Rabies from an insect who was eating a dead animal??

Hi guys, so i live in the USA and recently developed a huge fear of rabies. I see a lot of people have that in common, and it is really frustrating.

So i just want to share my scenario to see if it is possible to understand what I am saying or if it's just anxiety. It was 95 plus outside yesterday, and this scenario took place at 5:30 P.M., so it was still very hot outside.

Yesterday, i decided to go to my barber's house to cut my hair, we are close families, so that is why I went to a house to cut my hair. Upon arriving, i noticed there was something dead on the front porch of their house. I walked by it and saw it was either a very small mouse or a baby bird. The only thing that was there was its tail and the skin; the skin was very much visible because i think it was longer there and there were a lot of insects and bugs on it. I avoided it and went in to cut my hair. 40 min later, I left my barber's house and stupidly decided to take a picture of it standing a few feet away.

I took a picture and then felt a sting on my arm. Now this is where it gets very scary for me. Now I think that the insect that was eating it somehow had rabies saliva in its mouth or on its sting, and it stung me, and it got into my body that way. I am not making this up, this is seriously what I think; sorry if this sounds crazy but I think it does too. I know insects do not carry it, but is it possible this way to transmit it from insects to humans?

Is this possible or not, or is there no way something like this would have happened? Even if that thing was rabid and had saliva on it and the insects got to it, it would have dried, right??? My arm still hurts, and I see some redness there and a small bump-looking thing.

What should I do, I am very scared, and I think I have been exposed to rabies in that way, so anyone, please, if you can, answer. Thank you

Hi shadowstorm

im a nurse - in my current role I see people everyday for pre exposure rabies protection and frequently see people for post exposure rabies treatment.

I would like to reassure you the likelihood of you contracting Rabies like this is minimal to none, also small rodents are very very unlikely to have rabies and it’s never happened that anybody has contracted rabies from a rodent let alone from a fly who may or may not have been eating the carcas of the rodent.

please relax. You’re fine

Thank you very much for replying. It was highly likely that it was a dead bird that fell from a tree next to it because it did not even have a skin on and its head was not even formed properly so i think it was a newborn bird.

It was very hot outside yesterday and that bird was under the sun so the good thing is even if there was saliva, it would have been dried, it was 35 plus yesterday and at that time it 32 Celcius.

My question is, i have a little bump thing on my arm, but even if the insect at that exact time came and bit me, would it be a risk or not??? Thank you

No I don’t believe it was a risk. As per protocol if you visited me at work for “post exposure treatment” we wouldn’t treat you as there would be no indication :)

Alright got it, well thank you for your time and i will try not to think about this, it will be hard but i always say this and then think about it and torture myself for months. Anyway, thank you.

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Originally Posted by PANIC247

Hi shadowstorm

im a nurse - in my current role I see people everyday for pre exposure rabies protection and frequently see people for post exposure rabies treatment.

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Are you a nurse based in the UK?

I used to have this phobia, but part of my therapy was learning more about the statistical likelihood of an exposure over here. I was told it's very unlikely anybody in the UK would even encounter anything that would require the post exposure shots, bar a handful of cases, as it's only present in bats here. As it's considered extremely rare in the UK, is there a reason why you have to frequently administer post exposure shots to people? I was under the impression that bat encounters are extraordinarily rare here, and that only 1% of our bats carry the virus.

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Originally Posted by ShadowStorm777

Hi guys, so i live in the USA and recently developed a huge fear of rabies. I see a lot of people have that in common, and it is really frustrating.

So i just want to share my scenario to see if it is possible to understand what I am saying or if it's just anxiety. It was 95 plus outside yesterday, and this scenario took place at 5:30 P.M., so it was still very hot outside.

Yesterday, i decided to go to my barber's house to cut my hair, we are close families, so that is why I went to a house to cut my hair. Upon arriving, i noticed there was something dead on the front porch of their house. I walked by it and saw it was either a very small mouse or a baby bird. The only thing that was there was its tail and the skin; the skin was very much visible because i think it was longer there and there were a lot of insects and bugs on it. I avoided it and went in to cut my hair. 40 min later, I left my barber's house and stupidly decided to take a picture of it standing a few feet away.

I took a picture and then felt a sting on my arm. Now this is where it gets very scary for me. Now I think that the insect that was eating it somehow had rabies saliva in its mouth or on its sting, and it stung me, and it got into my body that way. I am not making this up, this is seriously what I think; sorry if this sounds crazy but I think it does too. I know insects do not carry it, but is it possible this way to transmit it from insects to humans?

Is this possible or not, or is there no way something like this would have happened? Even if that thing was rabid and had saliva on it and the insects got to it, it would have dried, right??? My arm still hurts, and I see some redness there and a small bump-looking thing.

What should I do, I am very scared, and I think I have been exposed to rabies in that way, so anyone, please, if you can, answer. Thank you

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Nope, not possible :)

Insects cannot transfer the virus like that. I went through this fear before, and was terrified a common housefly was going to give it to me. Despite it being scary, rabies is actually quite a fragile virus, and UV light + exposure to air which dries it out, will kill it incredibly quickly. Insects can't "pick it up" by feeding on a dead carcass either. It just doesn't work that way :) You have nothing to worry about.

Hey, thanks a lot for answering. I read that insects don't carry it and i get they don't transmit it, but i feel like i am that unlucky person who in some way got rabies and that insects needle was containing rabies saliva and when it bit me, it injected rabies saliva too. But then my logical side says this ain't a movie wake up but then something tells me that something bad is gonna happen and you caught this virus. The only thing worrying me is this bump thing, looks like a pimple thing and i am scared this is where the insect bit me.

Can i ask you a question? What if it was not an insect but a bat?? It was around 6pm and very light and very sunny and hot outside, Could they extend their necks and bite or they have to land on you, cling on you then bite and i should have noticed it biting my arm right??? Thanks again

By the way, i found the picture of that thing and took a picture of the "bite" mark, if you can, take a look, thx
Attachment 5897Attachment 5898Attachment 5899

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Originally Posted by WorryRaptor

Are you a nurse based in the UK?

I used to have this phobia, but part of my therapy was learning more about the statistical likelihood of an exposure over here. I was told it's very unlikely anybody in the UK would even encounter anything that would require the post exposure shots, bar a handful of cases, as it's only present in bats here. As it's considered extremely rare in the UK, is there a reason why you have to frequently administer post exposure shots to people? I was under the impression that bat encounters are extraordinarily rare here, and that only 1% of our bats carry the virus.

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If there was a severe threat of rabies here in the UK, then it would no doubt be all over the national news headlines.

But at least in the meantime, nada.

In fact (while I don't in any way wish to tempt fate by saying this), even Covid hardly seems to get mentioned in the national headlines anymore, though that's another story.

Hi Worryraptor - yes I’m a nurse based in the Uk. And you’re correct rabies had been eradicated in the uk minus a few bats. The post exposure treatment we offer is to individuals who were bitten abroad while on holiday :)

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Originally Posted by ShadowStorm777

Hey, thanks a lot for answering. I read that insects don't carry it and i get they don't transmit it, but i feel like i am that unlucky person who in some way got rabies and that insects needle was containing rabies saliva and when it bit me, it injected rabies saliva too. But then my logical side says this ain't a movie wake up but then something tells me that something bad is gonna happen and you caught this virus. The only thing worrying me is this bump thing, looks like a pimple thing and i am scared this is where the insect bit me.

Can i ask you a question? What if it was not an insect but a bat?? It was around 6pm and very light and very sunny and hot outside, Could they extend their necks and bite or they have to land on you, cling on you then bite and i should have noticed it biting my arm right??? Thanks again

By the way, i found the picture of that thing and took a picture of the "bite" mark, if you can, take a look, thx
Attachment 5897Attachment 5898Attachment 5899

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You seem to be worried about mechanical transmission (like an insect getting it on legs/mouth then biting you) - it's not possible. The rabies virus is incredibly fragile outside the host, and even in the tiny tiny tiny tiny chance (never ever heard of, ever) that a fly walked or fed on the saliva of a dead rabid animal, they simply wouldn't pick up enough of the virus. It needs a certain load to multiply. Think about the millions and millions of flies that are in the world, regularly feeding on dead animals and going off and biting/stinging/annoying people. If it were remotely possible, there would be cases popping up like crazy. That's not happening.

I could explain more why it can't happen, but with this kind of phobia, your brain will immediately want to jump to next scenario where you're the single unlucky person for the impossible to happen to. I have been there, and I know the dread you're feeling.

In short, insects can't carry, transmit, or transport the virus.

You got bitten by a bug, and there's a huge chance that bug was nowhere near the thing in the photo either, not that it would even matter it was. It would have no interest in biting you if it was busy with something dead and rotting. Not to mention that, it's sunny out, so anything with that UV glaring down on it would be as dead as the poor creature that perished on the porch. Bats wouldn't be out flying at that time either. No they can't extend their necks to bit your arm mid flight. Bats just aren't physically designed for that. They would need to land to bite, and you would 100% see them doing it.

Are you currently getting any therapy etc for the OCD?

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Originally Posted by PANIC247

Hi Worryraptor - yes I’m a nurse based in the Uk. And you’re correct rabies had been eradicated in the uk minus a few bats. The post exposure treatment we offer is to individuals who were bitten abroad while on holiday :)

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Ahh that makes more sense! Thanks :)

You don't know how much i appreciate you for answering and providing details and telling me that i have to think logically which is very hard to do lately. I hate this anxiety, i look down at my arm now and i see the "bite" mark and i think in 2-3 months, my end will come with rabies, i will have symptoms, etc. This is very tiring. And yes, i am worried about mechanical transmission, just like you mentioned.

At one minute i think hold on, this is just another insect bite, the other time i think a bat was on the tree and it bit me and i did not see it somehow, other time i think hold on, but maybe the insect really had saliva on its needle or somewhere, the other time i look at the bite and see yep that's it, this is gonna cause me trouble later. And yes, you are right, no way of knowing that was the same insect that bit me because i was standing near a tree a few feet away from that thing, so that's that too. When i stop worrying about the insect, i go back to a bat biting me somehow and think this is a bat bite that i did not notice and yes going back and forward, constant battle. I just don't know what to think anymore, i don't want to spend another 2 months waiting to die.
But thank you a lot, seriously you save me a lot of worrying. At the end of the day, i will still be worried for no apparent reason and think i got little left, i don't know, that 0.000001 percent chance gets to me you know, but what can i do, this brain of ours tortures us.

And no I am not getting any therapy as of now, but will try to look into it.
Anyway, thank you again very very much for replying.

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Originally Posted by WorryRaptor

You seem to be worried about mechanical transmission (like an insect getting it on legs/mouth then biting you) - it's not possible. The rabies virus is incredibly fragile outside the host, and even in the tiny tiny tiny tiny chance (never ever heard of, ever) that a fly walked or fed on the saliva of a dead rabid animal, they simply wouldn't pick up enough of the virus. It needs a certain load to multiply. Think about the millions and millions of flies that are in the world, regularly feeding on dead animals and going off and biting/stinging/annoying people. If it were remotely possible, there would be cases popping up like crazy. That's not happening.

I could explain more why it can't happen, but with this kind of phobia, your brain will immediately want to jump to next scenario where you're the single unlucky person for the impossible to happen to. I have been there, and I know the dread you're feeling.

In short, insects can't carry, transmit, or transport the virus.

You got bitten by a bug, and there's a huge chance that bug was nowhere near the thing in the photo either, not that it would even matter it was. It would have no interest in biting you if it was busy with something dead and rotting. Not to mention that, it's sunny out, so anything with that UV glaring down on it would be as dead as the poor creature that perished on the porch. Bats wouldn't be out flying at that time either. No they can't extend their necks to bit your arm mid flight. Bats just aren't physically designed for that. They would need to land to bite, and you would 100% see them doing it.

Are you currently getting any therapy etc for the OCD?

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You don't know how much i appreciate you for answering and providing details and telling me that i have to think logically which is very hard to do lately. I hate this anxiety, i look down at my arm now and i see the "bite" mark and i think in 2-3 months, my end will come with rabies, i will have symptoms, etc. This is very tiring. And yes, i am worried about mechanical transmission, just like you mentioned.

At one minute i think hold on, this is just another insect bite, the other time i think a bat was on the tree and it bit me and i did not see it somehow, other time i think hold on, but maybe the insect really had saliva on its needle or somewhere, the other time i look at the bite and see yep that's it, this is gonna cause me trouble later. And yes, you are right, no way of knowing that was the same insect that bit me because i was standing near a tree a few feet away from that thing, so that's that too. When i stop worrying about the insect, i go back to a bat biting me somehow and think this is a bat bite that i did not notice and yes going back and forward, constant battle. I just don't know what to think anymore, i don't want to spend another 2 months waiting to die.
But thank you a lot, seriously you save me a lot of worrying. At the end of the day, i will still be worried for no apparent reason and think i got little left, i don't know, that 0.000001 percent chance gets to me you know, but what can i do, this brain of ours tortures us.

And no I am not getting any therapy as of now, but will try to look into it.
Anyway, thank you again very very much for replying.

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Originally Posted by ShadowStorm777

You don't know how much i appreciate you for answering and providing details and telling me that i have to think logically which is very hard to do lately. I hate this anxiety, i look down at my arm now and i see the "bite" mark and i think in 2-3 months, my end will come with rabies, i will have symptoms, etc. This is very tiring. And yes, i am worried about mechanical transmission, just like you mentioned.

At one minute i think hold on, this is just another insect bite, the other time i think a bat was on the tree and it bit me and i did not see it somehow, other time i think hold on, but maybe the insect really had saliva on its needle or somewhere, the other time i look at the bite and see yep that's it, this is gonna cause me trouble later. And yes, you are right, no way of knowing that was the same insect that bit me because i was standing near a tree a few feet away from that thing, so that's that too. When i stop worrying about the insect, i go back to a bat biting me somehow and think this is a bat bite that i did not notice and yes going back and forward, constant battle. I just don't know what to think anymore, i don't want to spend another 2 months waiting to die.
But thank you a lot, seriously you save me a lot of worrying. At the end of the day, i will still be worried for no apparent reason and think i got little left, i don't know, that 0.000001 percent chance gets to me you know, but what can i do, this brain of ours tortures us.

And no I am not getting any therapy as of now, but will try to look into it.
Anyway, thank you again very very much for replying.

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I'd strongly suggest following up with a therapist, you owe that to yourself :)

I fully understand the feelings you're describing. I've been there, and I was in deep! I still have occasional, mild moments of what if. For example, I currently have two little bite marks on my foot. They're red, round, and scabbed over, only about 4mm apart. They definitely bled at some point. I have no way of identifying what it is, but it's definitely not an insect. My mind, just out of sheer habit at first, jumped to a bat bite. In reality, I probably had some grit in my sock that punched a couple of holes into my skin, or I got it while shaving my legs. I had that sinking feeling of "oh no a bat bit me and went to hide in my house and I'll never find it" and it's an awful state of mind to be in, even if for a moment. I had to resist the momentary urge of posting on here to ask if anybody else had ever had such a mark on their bodies and turned out to be fine, but that's the start of the slippery slope. No amount of reassurance works for long. So I know your pain!

You will be ok. You didn't catch rabies. Your next step is to to put all of your energy into getting therapy so that you can live your life without a cloud hanging over your head.

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Originally Posted by WorryRaptor

I'd strongly suggest following up with a therapist, you owe that to yourself :)

I fully understand the feelings you're describing. I've been there, and I was in deep! I still have occasional, mild moments of what if. For example, I currently have two little bite marks on my foot. They're red, round, and scabbed over, only about 4mm apart. They definitely bled at some point. I have no way of identifying what it is, but it's definitely not an insect. My mind, just out of sheer habit at first, jumped to a bat bite. In reality, I probably had some grit in my sock that punched a couple of holes into my skin, or I got it while shaving my legs. I had that sinking feeling of "oh no a bat bit me and went to hide in my house and I'll never find it" and it's an awful state of mind to be in, even if for a moment. I had to resist the momentary urge of posting on here to ask if anybody else had ever had such a mark on their bodies and turned out to be fine, but that's the start of the slippery slope. No amount of reassurance works for long. So I know your pain!

You will be ok. You didn't catch rabies. Your next step is to to put all of your energy into getting therapy so that you can live your life without a cloud hanging over your head.

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Got you, well thanks, gotta convince myself somehow that this was just a normal insect bite. The only worrying think for me is the bite mark which is turning into a hard "scab" you can say, or something similar, does not look like a wound though. Anyway, thanks again a lot for answering and i hope nothing bad happens and this bite mark is just an ordinary mark like any other that we have. Thank you

And one more quick question, lets say a bat was not flying rather than on the tree next to me, could it have somehow bit me on my arm from the tree by not being on me without me noticing??? Or that's again my imaginary brain creating this?? Thank you

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And one more quick question, lets say a bat was not flying rather than on the tree next to me, could it have somehow bit me on my arm from the tree by not being on me without me noticing??? Or that's again my imaginary brain creating this?? Thank you

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You would have noticed it. 100%. In fact, you're probably going to notice something like more than others, since you're so hyperaware of your own body. Anxiety causes hyper vigilance, so you would absolutely see and feel a bat biting you.

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The only worrying think for me is the bite mark which is turning into a hard "scab

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Most things scab over on skin. It's just a protective process. I've had horsefly bites that scabbed over. Pimples too.

I really hope you are able to get help for your anxiety. The reassurance you get only provides a temporary balm, and in the long run, will only serve to make the anxiety worse. All it really does is train your brain to jump onto the next fantastical scenario to stay in the anxious zone. All the logical explanations bring a little bit of relief, but then your mind will start searching for a workaround. The more it does that successfully, the harder it is to rationalise when you have a "what if" moment. And that's got to be exhausting for you. The only way to stop this pattern is to get therapy, and/or find and address the cause.

Thank you for still responding worryraptor, appreciate it, sorry for taking your time, I understand how tiring it can be to answer the same question again but i gotta ask you one more question. The "bite" mark that again i believe that is the bite mark, it is scarring, like a pimple scar i cant describe it, i cant touch it, nothing happens but it looks like its scarring and its whitish, not hurting or anything, looks like a scar but its roundish and looks like pimplish but does not peel off or you cant get it off like you do on a pimple, would you happen to know what this is or not and if this could be caused by me picking and squeezing it??? I gotta admit the day after the insect bit me i started to squeeze it to see what happens to it, i squeezed that part of my skin hard that day, i remember.
Can this be the reason its scarring because i picked on the spot a lot??? I won't make it more complicating, in short, it looks like its scarring, it is flat on the sides like there is a very small line attached to it and it is with a middle roundish, pimplish. Thanks

Sorry again for taking your time and appreciate it again for answering. And for the last time nothing to worry about right, even if it the insect bit me which it did, no rabies or nothing right, just my mind playing tricks on me again right, no bat was there or any saliva or something on the insect??? Thanks

With all due respect, its time to get real life help and put this to bed Shadowstorm :lac:

FMP

Shadowstorm, I'll repeat what I said before, because you need to address this anxiety as soon as you can.

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The reassurance you get only provides a temporary balm, and in the long run, will only serve to make the anxiety worse. All it really does is train your brain to jump onto the next fantastical scenario to stay in the anxious zone. All the logical explanations bring a little bit of relief, but then your mind will start searching for a workaround. The more it does that successfully, the harder it is to rationalise when you have a "what if" moment. And that's got to be exhausting for you. The only way to stop this pattern is to get therapy, and/or find and address the cause.

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Despite me answering your questions previously, your brain has jumped to the next set of variables, exactly like I described. This isn't intended to sound dismissive, just that I have been in this place, and the only way out of it is to stop constantly searching for reassurance, and to seek help for the real problem, which is the state of anxiety you're in.

No amount of reassurance anybody can give is going to help you to get past this. You need to take those steps yourself, and to do that, you need to find a therapist who will work with you on this. Why don't you take some time today to find if there are any therapists locally who deal with ocd phobias, and get the ball rolling on that?

Alright, you are right, reassurance seeking is only gonna make my problems worse. A funny thing happened today, i was throwing cut boxes in the trash and i felt something on my finger, it started to bleed and it seemed like it got cut. Of course my mind went straight to what if there was a bat there. This sucks really and yes it is seriously the time to fight back against this, I cant let it control me for the rest of my life.

Again thank you for everything and thank you for providing everything with details. Thanks