Why do bats have rabies?

General Questions
#1

Ok, I know the danger is greatly exaggerated.
But I had a bat crawl across my kitchen floor the other day. After committing the bat to the depths of my ShopVac I did a bit of research to find out how worried I should be about bats in general.

Bats do carry rabies, although the rate is
somewhere between 1 and 10 percent. The higher percentage is for those bats that are sick or dazed enough to be encountered by humans.

The question is, “Why should bats have rabies at all?” They’re mostly insectivores, and don’t come into close contact with any other mammals except other bats. I would assume that sick bats or colonies would rapidly die off.

#2

IIRC, in one of Cecil’s books, someone took him to task in a rebuttal letter about negative characterizations of bats.

The basic thrust of the letter was that only a small percentage of bats have and can inflict rabies.

Yer pal,
Satan

#3

The two places you want to check:

http://www.batcon.org/main.html , for more info on bats than you can shake a broomstick at;

http://www.medscape.com/Home/Topics/ID/InfectiousDiseases.html , for specific info on rabies (you’ll have to register).

#4

Could they catch Rabies from eating a mosquito that had just fed on a rabid animal?

#5

Spoonerism-on-the-fly report: I thought the question was “Why do rats have babies?”

"::backspacing over “…when a mommy rat and a daddy rat…” :::

Designated Optional Signature at Bottom of Post

#6

Bats (order Chiroptera – I love pointing out that I know that) can have rabies for all the same reasons that other mammals can. The danger is that some bats, especially vampire bats and a few others that have carnivorous tendencies, can pass the disease on to other animals (like humans and their pets and livestock) easier than others, due to their natural behavior patterns and sharper teeth. Bats like the pipistrelle are unlikely to pass rabies to humans because they’re so small and harmless. However, a rabid pipistrelle could be eaten by a larger bat (this does happen) or by your dog and pass the disease on that way.

Bats are cool, and some species are endangered. The ShopVac wasn’t as good a choice as opening the window and shooing the little guy out. I’ll try not to be too upset though – I wasn’t there.

–Da Cap’n

#7

Finagle, I think your question is, ‘how did bats get rabies?’ after all, no one knows why they have rabies. Note that rabies makes animals aggressive and they bite a lot of other bats & it spreads rapidly.

#8

On another note, since mammals can get rabies, and whales are mammals, has there ever been a rabid whale? Foaming at the blowhole, screening swimmers through its baleen, you know, just an unstopable menace?

Note: this post may contain sarcasm.

Jeremy…

I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine - Kurt Vonnegut

#9

AFAIK, rabies is pandemic among woodland mammals. I don’t know the vector of transmission, especially between species (is it always a result of a bite?) but there is a large reservoir of carriers out there. Bats are only one of many.

I think rabies is just an excuse to justify our fear of flying nocturnal creatures with membranous wings. Raccoons also carry rabies, but they’re cute. So we tend to feed raccoons and run away from bats.

“And comb London’s teeming millions for him? Had we but world enough and time.”
Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder Must Advertise

#10

In addition–ever try to catch a bat so that it could be examined???

For that reason alone, if you’re bitten, you have to assume the worst.

#11

When you can train 10,000 raccoons to rampage through a small woodland town for the big screem, let me know.

As for the OP, could there be other vectors for rabies besides mammals? Can insects carry the disease without contracting it? I personally don’t know… just offering a suggestion.

“I guess it is possible for one person to make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”

#12

Jophiel:

David, Sterling? Why do I have this ominous feeling? :wink:

#13

Quote:
On another note, since mammals can get rabies, and whales are mammals, has there ever been a rabid whale? Foaming at the blowhole, screening swimmers through its baleen, you know, just an unstopable menace?
Two words: Rush Limbaugh

JB
Lex Non Favet Delictorum Votis

#14

I’m just taking a SWAG here, but I would bet that the contraction of rabies by bats from animals other than bats is probably statistically pretty low. Probably even lower than that of other mammals. Most bats probably get rabies from other bats - that’s the downside of living in huge colonies and tight living quarters. According to one of the local bat-ologists here in Austin Texas (where we have a huge population of bats and they are generally well regarded because we have a tiny population of flying insects), the incidence of rabies in the bat population is less than 2%. Considering the way they live, I’d say this is staggeringly low. The problem is that if you see a bat on the ground there’s a high probability that he’s sick, so you don’t want to take a chance with them.

Other related observations. Many people are afraid of bats because they think all bats are blood sucking parasites - which, of course, is technically paranoia since most bats (especially in North America) are not. The fewer people that are insightful enough to know that most bats are not of the vampire variety, still fear bats with a certain paranoia because of a ‘believed’ high incidence of rabies (which apparently way overinflated). Finally, people don’t really fear rabies… it’s the cure for rabies that scares the hell out of most folks!

#15

Yeah, just what we need, bats for pets.
‘When you can train 10,000 raccoons to rampage through a small
woodland town for the big screem, let me know.’

Yeah, you should come to my city, Pacific Grove, we did that.