AIBU to worry after a possible bat hit my forehead?

Oh and mumofcand - after my bat incident I phoned to ask if zoo’s bats were rabies tested and they said they weren’t. This was in Asia, years ago.

I’m amazed at the ignorance of UK people. Bats in the UK do carry rabies. It’s just rare to be passed on

OP I had this thought the other night when I bat swooped near my head. I think the risk is vanishingly small and probably one I would take. But if you are worried I would phone 111 and ask as they will have a protocol.

years ago I had to take the rabies injections as a bat in a zoo spat on my foot! And it had a blister. I was out of time pretty much but they gave them to me anyway. I was a wee bit stressed I recall but I’m still here!

You were very lucky.

Well a bat "handler" died in 2002 in the UK. The previous person died in 1902. So it's not impossible but maybe prevented by the vaccine in later years. And it can have quite a long incubation period. After looking up the stuff about rabies, I think I may have been a bit too casual about my Bali bat though I didn't feel any bite or have any obviously broken skin.

Well, you'd feel pretty silly if you didn't get the vaccine, developed rabies, and died, wouldn't you? So on balance, considering it's possible (if unlikely) for bats to carry rabies in the UK, I'd seek professional medical advice.

I've had a bat fly into my face. It left a "black deposit" behind. This was in Asia about two years ago. I washed off the black stuf and went out to dinner. I'm fine. I can tell you that if you were hit in the face by a bat you'd know it.

Agree I don't know what has gotten into bats this week; had one in the flat last weekend, no idea how it got in, I opened the window of the balcony and shut the door behind it when it eventually fluttered in and it sorted itself out. But then when I returned to my work digs on Monday there was a dead'un inside the front door. Weird!

What did you decide to do OP?

Why on earth would you say, Grow up?
Your comment is vile.

I would actually get a rabies jab if i was you.
Best to be safe

Grow up. A bat flew into my face 3 weeks ago. I'm still alive

Additionally. The info is to seek medical prompt advice - not wait and see.

@OneQuickCoralQuoter

UKHSA’s Rabies and Immunoglobulin Service on tel:0330 128 1020 0330 128 1020; or the local health protection team.

This is who to call. Please do it for proper advice. You're just getting armchair opinions here.

Rabies transmission occurs in one of the three following ways;

A bite from an infected animal
A scratch or lick on broken skin from an infected source
Via mucous membranes so if infected saliva touches the moist lining of the eyes, nose, or mouth.

So if the bat hasn't bitten you, scratched you, licked you or drooled in your eye, nose or mouth then you're fine.

We have bats in our shared loft and have had 2 in our flat which we have removed ourselves. Neither of us have rabies.

Yes, but you have no way of knowing.
Rabies is fatal if untreated and the window for successful treatment is small.

We absolutely do. Anyone working with them has to have rabies vaccinations.

OP there was a similar thread recently with lots of stupid comments from posters sprouting false information.

Please seek medical advice.

Fwiw I'd get the rabies treatment jic and I don't have health anxiety.

False.

All of those things you say may be true. (Or nearly true — the bats have viruses related to rabies.)

But assuming it was a bat and not a large moth, surely a bat can bumble into an obstacle and bumble off again without biting the obstacle or licking it?

Ah, that’ll have been Matt the Bat Berry (or one of his vampire housemates) from Staten Island then

Maybe it’s some bot way to raise awareness of the very slim possibility of catching rabies from a bat in the UK (it’s possible! I have bats roosting at my house and it made me anxious for a while when I discovered this).

Only if it was a cricket bat.

We do, surprisingly!

Hello OP, I am an ecologist.

First of all, a bat would be very unlikely able to bite or scratch you in flight.

Secondly, the 2 species you're talking about do indeed carry lyssaviruses, which cause rabies. However, most individuals of these species do not have the virus. Serotine bats aren't very common, and Daubenton's bats are mostly seen by water. If you're in the north, you won't even have Serotine bats in your area.

Third, only 1 person has died from rabies contracted within the UK since 1902, and that guy spent his entire career handling bats!

So all in all, I think you are quite safe. :)

P.S. I have been bitten by bats quite a few times while researching abroad. When it breaks the skin it is small, but definitely noticeable.

But none of this applies to imaginary bats.