Published Date: 2009-01-13 04:00:42
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Rabies, bat, feline & human exposure - USA: (IL)
Archive Number: 20090113.0132

RABIES, BAT, FELINE AND HUMAN EXPOSURE - USA: (ILLINOIS)
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Date: Sun 11 Jan 2009
Source: Shavedlongcock.blogspot.com [edited]
<http://shavedlongcock.blogspot.com/2009/01/rabid-bat-prompts-city-warning.html>


The discovery of a rabid bat in the Lincoln Square neighborhood prompted
the city late on Saturday [10 Jan 2008] to issue a warning against any
contact with bats or other wild animals. On Wed 7 Jan 2009, a house cat
discovered the bat in an apartment near Lawrence and Western Avenues and
woke up a man and woman in the dwelling, according to the Chicago
Department of Public Health. The couple saw the bat lying on the floor and
trapped it with a bucket, and then called staff from Chicago Animal Care
and Control to remove it.

Analysis of the bat's carcass this week by the Illinois Department of
Public Health showed the bat had rabies, and, as a precaution, the man and
the woman are undergoing medical treatment, a series of 5 vaccinations
spread out over a 28 day period. "Rabies should never, under any
circumstances, be taken lightly," CDPH [Chicago Department of Public
Health] commissioner Terry Mason said in a release sent Saturday [10 Jan
2008] night. "This is a deadly viral disease that attacks the nervous
system. There is no effective treatment for rabies once symptoms have
started. At that point, it is fatal." But a rabies infection can be
prevented with early treatment, "so that makes it vitally important that
anyone exposed to a bat seek medical care right away," he said.

People can get rabies from the bite of an infected warm-blooded animal,
such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, coyote, feral cat, or domestic animals. In a
typical year, about 2 or 3 rabid bats are detected in the city, according
to the CDPH. People who find a bat in their house should immediately leave
the room where the bat is, close the door behind them and call 911.

--
communicated by:
ProMED-Mail rapporteur Susan Baekeland

[The species of the bat and fate of the cat are not disclosed. - Mod.CP]

See Also

2008
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Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (06): (MT) 20081009.3203
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (05): (MT) 20081005.3146
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (04): (AZ) 20080924.3015
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (03): (AZ) 20080921.2971
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (02): (CO) skunks 20080727.2290
Rabies, human, bat - USA: (MN), 2007 20080506.1545
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA: (TX) 20080411.1323
2007
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Rabies, bat, feline, bovine - USA 20071030.3515
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (WY) 20070518.1579
2006
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Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (IN) (02): human death 20061103.3150
Rabies, bat, human exposure - USA (IN) 20061018.2987
2005
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Rabies, human, bat - USA (MS) 20051020.3058
2004
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Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (07): recovery 20041231.3459
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (06): recovery 20041223.3390
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI)(05): recovery 20041201.3213
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI)(04): recovery 20041129.3194
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (03): recovery 20041126.3163
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) (02): partial recovery 20041110.3040
Rabies, human, bat - USA (WI) 20041021.2853
2002
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Rabies, human and bat - USA (Tennessee): alert 20020913.5298

....................cp/msp/sh


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