Bat with rabies found at Spiritwood daycare this month: Sask. Health Authority

After a bat with rabies was found in a Spiritwood daycare earlier this month, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is offering preventative rabies treatment to anyone who may have been in contact.

According to the health authority, on June 4, a bat was discovered by staff at the Love & Laughter Early Learning Centre daycare attached to the Hartley Clark Elementary School.

In a statement, the health authority said the bat was captured by a conservation officer and sent for testing, which confirmed the creature was positive for rabies.

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“All children and persons who may have had contact with the bat have been offered rabies immunoglobulin for immediate protection, along with rabies vaccination to provide longer-term protection,” the health authority said in its statement.

The Living Sky School Division sent a statement to parents on June 9, sharing that the school and central services team has been working together in response to the incident.

“Our facilities team had a professional come out to inspect the building,” the statement said. “After his work, he reported the building to be clear of any other animals and cited that future bat activity is unlikely at this time.”

The SHA encourages residents of the province to contact HealthLine 811 if they encounter a bat within a dwelling for direction on the next appropriate steps, which may include a preventative rabies vaccination.

Bitten by a bat? Expert says don’t panic

University of Regina biology professor, Mark Brigham, said it should not be underestimated that rabies is a dangerous disease.

“If a person gets it without appropriate action, they will almost assuredly die, and therefore we have to be very careful,” he said in an interview.

Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the nervous system and  is 100 per cent fatal to humans if symptoms appear. Brigham said that while bats are often associated with rabies, most that are tested do not have the disease.

He said most bats tested for rabies have already come into contact with humans under unusual circumstances, such as being found on the ground or places bats would not normally be.

Brigham further explained the only way to test a bat for rabies is to kill it and look at its brain. He noted the vast majority of bats never interact with people, are never tested and likely do not have rabies.

The professor also said that because they eat insects, bats have very strong teeth and jaw muscles. Bats do not go out of the way to bite people, Brigham said, adding that a bat won’t attack unless provoked.

“You will not be bitten by a bat and not know that you’ve been bitten by a bat, because it really does hurt,” he explained.

To protect yourself against a bat, Brigham advised not picking it up with bare hands.

“Imagine if something the size of King Kong tried to pick you up – you’d bite, scratch, kick, punch, do whatever you could to get away,” he said. “Bats are doing the same thing, and so avoidance is the best way.”

If you find a bat in a situation that is not appropriate, Brigham said to use a tool, shovel or thick leather gloves to put the bat into a towel or box, then take it outside and shake it.

“If the bat stays there for periods of time, then call your local health authorities,” he said,

While rabies should be taken seriously, Brigham said there is no need to immediately panic if you get bitten by one.

“It is not a race in an ambulance to get a shot within 10 minutes or you’re going to die,” he said. “You have days or even weeks.”

Brigham recommended visiting a health facility right away and, if you don’t have the animal with you, expect to receive post-exposure rabies vaccinations.

Those vaccines constitute five needles to the arm, and Brigham said, to the best of his knowledge, it is “the best vaccination against any virus in the world.”

“If you leave it and don’t do anything and you start showing symptoms of rabies … unfortunately, it’s too late and the outcome is not good,” he said.

The professor encouraged people to still enjoy bats by watching them while they are out at night feeding and eating pests, but said just like other wildlife, “they’re not meant to be picked up or handled.

“The best situation for humans and bats is to get the animal outside, where it can be on its merry way and doing what it’s supposed to be doing, not being terrified because it’s trapped in a building.”