Really worried about rabies and bats

[djsandra]

On Thursday, I was talking with my friend, and he said that he forgot to tell me his "bat story", because he knows I'm scared of bats. He had been staying at a friends cabin a week ago, and had seen a bat flying outside. He then went inside the cabin, and the bat flew inside. He said it was darting around the cabin until it went out. He said that this happened at nighttime, and that the bat didn't bite him or strike him. I am really angry because it didn't seem like he thought it was a big deal, or tell his parents (his dad is a doctor). I am not only concerned for him, but also for myself, as he sat beside me, whispered to me, exhaled on me, and did other things during which he was quite close to me. I don't know what to do, I will talk to him about it tomorrow during school. I'm really scared that he could have been exposed to rabies as the room was quite small.

[NotCool]

If the bat didn't bite him, he didn't get rabies. Also, not every bat has rabies.

[Rennie1989]

Just doing a quick google search, rabies in Canada is incredibly rare. In the USA only two people die of rabies each year, and I would imagine they have more cases of animals with rabies than Canada.

You have to be bitten to catch rabies, if your friend was not bitten then you have nothing to worry about. The only other way to catch rabies is if the effected animal licked the wound (which a bat would not do... obviously). Rabies is spread through saliva, it is not air borne, so your friend whispering in your ear will not spread the disease.

[djsandra]

I am worried that bat dripped out saliva as it was fluttering around in the cabin, and that of course, the saliva came in contact with him. People have died of rabies after coming in contact with bats, and claiming not to have been bitten.

[Sam100322]

There's is no chance at all of you catching rabies from what you've described

[djsandra]

Thank you for the replies, but how can you be sure that I don't have to be worried? I am also worried for him, not just myself. With rabies, if you were exposed, and don't receive treatment, you will die.

[Rennie1989]

If that were to happen there would be far more cases of rabies reported each year then there currently is. If only two people die from rabies a year in the US (considering the number of people who live in the US and the amount of rabies-infested animals) then that should assure you that simply saliva dripping on someone is incredibly unlikely (to impossible) to give somebody rabies.

If what we're saying won't relieve your worries then speak to a doctor and ask for his advice.

[sammyb]

You dont have rabies. Had a bat in my house the other day. It came in thru a window and had to shoe it out. If u didn't get bit and he didn’t get bit don't worry. Even if it did bite. . No problem man .. its probably a healthy bat ne way

[Fishmanpa]

Hi djsandra,

As everyone is saying, there's no way you could have gotten rabies.

Let's look at a scenario. First off, the bat has to be rabid, which is pretty rare. Second, it would have had to bite him which it didn't.

Concerning your worry about a drop of saliva? The bat would have had to be drooling (which it wasn't ;) ). Then that drop of saliva would have had to fall on an open wound to even penetrate the skin. Then, the rabies bug would have had to establish itself and multiply, thus infecting the person which takes 3-8 weeks to even realize there are symptoms. Then your friend would have had to bite you, penetrating your skin to get the bug that he doesn't have into your system. If he did something like that, bless your heart! That's pretty kinky! :ohmy:

See where I'm going here? You and your friend stand a better chance of being hit by a meteorite than getting rabies in this situation.

Truly, please don't concern yourself with this. I understand the fear as I hate bees. But I can no sooner go into anaphylactic shock from a sting I didn't get than you can get rabies from a bat flying around a room that didn't bite nor drool on you :)

Positive thoughts