# rabies and bats

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 6, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801 "2003-04-06T03:23:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![captainQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@captainQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainQwark)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/1 "2003-04-06T03:23:38Z")

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why are bats so prone to rabies?

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**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/2 "2003-04-06T03:42:09Z")

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I’ll search for a cite but I’ve read that onlty 1% of all bats are rabid.

But aren’t there something loke 2 trillion bats world wide?  
That’s 20 billion rabid bats! Almost 4 for every human on the planet!:eek:

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**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/3 "2003-04-06T03:50:31Z")

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Duck!

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/4 "2003-04-06T03:53:12Z")

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[National Park Service report, 1998.](http://www.nps.gov/riskmgmt/envirbats.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> Rabid bats have been reported from all 48 contiguous states, at least once in Alaska, and once in Hawaii from a bat that had been inadvertently transported from the mainland. Rabies has been isolated from at least 30 of the 39 North American bat species found north of Mexico.
> 
> Although the percentage of rabid bats is low, all bats encountered should be considered rabid unless the bat is captured and found to be rabies free.

The incidence is fairly “rare”, according to some sources, but all bites should be checked.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/5 "2003-04-06T03:58:10Z")

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Google [bats rabies]

Here’s what CDC has to say:

[http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats\_&\_rabies/bats&.htm](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats_&_rabies/bats&.htm)

I did find a cite that one-half of one percent of bats _tested_ tested positive.

Just a guess about the concern for rabies: Most animals that typically carry rabies are easier to track down and test. However, if a bat bites you, there’s a good chance you’ll never see that bat again, so it’s wise to go ahead with the vaccination–because, once the symptoms start, there’s no going back.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rabies-and-bats/166801/6 "2003-04-06T05:57:01Z")

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There’s some info on bats and rabies in the responses to this column: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_029.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_029.html)