Rabies

[HuckleberryBlackcurrant]

We found a bat in our spare room today. We live in the US. It is currently triple bagged in our refrigerator waiting to be sent to the health authority for analysis for rabies. We won't know if the bat is rabid until Wednesday. We are terrified. We have no idea when or how it got in. We have 2 kids and I am 37 weeks pregnant.

Apparently rabies vaccinations can cost thousands of dollars which we really can't afford right now .

If you believe in the power of prayer please send one up for us. We are very very scared.

Did it bite anyone?

I think this is only relevant if it bit someone, no?

Why are you terrified? Rabies isn’t airborne.

Did it bite anyone?

If it bit you then yes be worried, but bat bites are rare, and getting rabies from a bat is even rarer.

Just finding a bat means nothing

Did you kill it?!

As everyone else said, unless it but someone you're being utterly ridiculous

Was it dead before you froze it?
I know you are worried, I’m sure you would have noticed if you had been bitten though. I hope the analysis comes back clear so you can relax.

I'm more concerned about the poor bat in the fridge. I'm assuming he's dead? If not, I hope he's got a coat and wooly hat. Poor little fella!

Did it bite you?

If you ever find a bat in a room you were sleeping in, you have to always assume you were bitten, as their teeth are so small you wouldn’t even know. People have caught rabies without knowing that way.
look it up. So for everyone saying we’re you bitten, it’s not as simple as that.

however if you weren’t asleep in the room with it, and you’ve not been near it - no issue

Rabies develops incredibly fast from what I remember, so if you haven't got any symptoms you're fine.

The vast majority of bats are non-rabid, so the risk is very tiny. I don't know why your brain is jumping to that...

@Anonymous20232023 with three plastic bags keeping it warm, the cold would be a shortlived problem.

OP as people said unless somebody has a bite mark there is no risk of infection.

However do you know where it came from?
You should be checking for any small holes in the outside of your home to see if rhey show aigns of animal activity

Two adults scared of a dead bat? Seriously?

The mind boggles.

If it has t bit anyone, then why are you worried about any of you having rabies?

Bizarre.

Actually I'm going to go against the grain here

, I used to have a colleague who was an American dr and they found a bat in their room and they were told if it was in the room when they were sleeping then they needed to get a rabies shot because bats can bite and scratch without you noticing and you can't tell if it's got rabies til they dissect it.

If you call your insurance they may cover it. You do need to go to urgent care though to start the vaccines.

Erm, a prayers request is really OTT OP. Has anybody been bitten or scratched? If not, then please rest assured the risk of rabies infection is zero. Was it deceased when you found it? You handled it wearing gloves? Have you thought about how it gained entrance to your spare room - window left open?

Did you get photos of it?

Here in the UK there are local bat conservation groups you can call who are vaccinated and trained to handle/rescue/rehabilitate wild bats. I bet similar groups exist locally to you in the US.

@muddlingthrou Rabies can stay dormant for up to a year.

I will be in the minority, but I would err on the side of caution and get the vaccine. My child and I had the series and unlike the rabies vaccines of old, they are just regular shots (we had it because of frequent travel to a country where it is endemic).
Bat bites are not always obvious. In college, we had a bat trapped in our dorm. The person whose room it was caught in got vaccinated.
Can you call an authority for advice?
Rabies really isn't something to take a chance on. The chances of you contracting it are very small, but it is a horrible, fatal disease.

THIS!

Can people stop taking the piss out of op. We're incredibly lucky to live in a country where it's incredibly rare to encounter a rabid animal and if you did it is free for the vaccines.

In the us they have rabies in the wild and the vaccine course can cost thousands per person.

If you're ever asleep in a room with a bat you have to act as though you've been bitten because the teeth are so small you might not wake up and you really won't notice the bite marks.

@Jongleterre boys-tragic-death-serves-as-warning-to-others-20130321-2giom.html. The chances of getting infected are very very rare, but it does happen.

@CoachBeardsJane Thank you, I agree.

Sorry, OP, lots of Uk posters are oblivious to the situation you're in.

Many bats in US carry rabies. Their bites, or particularly scratches, may be imperceptible.

The rabies shots could amount to tens of thousands of pounds.
They may be essential. They may be unecessary.
Going without risks death.
Going with risks financial disaster.
(As an aside, please think of this when someone suggests moving to an insurance based health system:this is what it looks like)

No helpful suggestions, @HuckleberryBlackcurrant , but my heart goes out to you, and will be thinking of you.

Ok, going to put my hands up and apologise to the OP. I was wrong and I'm very sorry! Thanks to other posters who took the time to respond. Hope all turns out ok x

Yep googled it

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604904/

US bats have a massive rabies risk while UK bats have a tiny risk

Absolutely this. Can you get the shot on insurance?

Grow up, for god’s sake