# Is rabies harmful to bats or are they just carriers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942 "2009-11-01T15:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/1 "2009-11-01T15:10:33Z")
Wiki’d and Googled but can’t seem to find an answer to this. If a bat has rabies does it effect them negatively or do they just carry the virus? ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/2 "2009-11-02T00:05:43Z")
I can remember in the past when there has been an outbreak in our area, much to-do is made over testing any dead bats that are found. I always assumed that this was to see if rabies had killed them, but I suppose it could have just been dead bats were the easiest to catch and test. (And I’m sorry, I couldn’t think of another way to word that. I’m not making fun of the question.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/3 "2009-11-02T00:14:16Z")
I think you probably meant this for GQ rather than CS. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/4 "2009-11-02T01:10:40Z")
Various Googling says that the bats to be careful of are those that are active at abnormal times (i.e. during the day), those whose behavior is “erratic” and those that can’t fly. So it sounds very much as if bats are indeed harmed by rabies. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/5 "2009-11-02T01:52:56Z")
According to Wiki’s [_Rabies and Animals_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies_and_animals), bats do get rabies. The article includes this gem: “In September 1931, Dr. J. L. Pawan, a Government Bacteriologist found Negri bodies in the brain of a bat with unusual habits.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/6 "2009-11-02T09:07:52Z")
When doing research after capturing bats in the home we (the husband and I) were able to locate a bat expert down in Texas who definitively told us that yes, rabies does make bats sick and kills them just like it does any other mammal. If it wasn’t 3 am at the time of this post I’d dig up her name but I don’t think the sleeping members of the household (which does not include bats) would appreciate it. However, this [website](http://www.batworld.org/main/main.html) has some good information on bats, including what to do (and what NOT to!) if you [find a bat](http://www.batworld.org/found_a_bat/found_a_bat.html) ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/7 "2009-11-03T16:03:06Z")
There is no known “carrier state” for rabies. Thus, any bat that is capable of spreading the virus, has the disease. This applies to all mammals. –ywtf, DVM, MPH ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/8 "2009-11-03T16:10:49Z")
A vetrinarian friend of the family says: “Racoons are the only animal I will shoot on sight. They’re the only creatures that can carry rabies without symptoms.” I’m not an expert on the subject, but I like to think he is. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/9 "2009-11-03T16:18:34Z")
> [@pan1](#): > > A vetrinarian friend of the family says: > > “Racoons are the only animal I will shoot on sight. They’re the only creatures that can carry rabies without symptoms.” Sorry, but this is an assertion that shouldn’t be blindly believed just because your pal is a vet. There are no animal studies that bear this out. Anyone in the field of rabies research who made this claim would be laughed off the stage. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-rabies-harmful-to-bats-or-are-they-just-carriers/515942/10 "2009-11-03T23:18:00Z")
Any of you professional animal types know the latest on whitenose (For you non-professionals, whitenose is a fungal epidemic killing North American bats)