We had a bat in our bedroom! Last night, while I was reading I saw a bat flying about. Steve captured it and we set it free outdoors. We then spoke to and read from bat experts. Because we didn't know how many nights we slept with this bat, the consensus was to assume we've been bitten, scratched or drooled upon... and that the bat was rabid (that said, the Tahoe Basin has a very low incidence of rabies and we still love the benefit that bats offer). Therefore, Steve and I spent our morning (9 AM to 1 PM) receiving great care at Barton's ER in order to get a rabies vaccine.
Who should receive the vaccine post-exposure? Vaccination after exposure is recommended for all individuals who have had contact with an animal that they believe may be, or which is proven to be, rabid. Vaccination should be initiated as soon after exposure as possible and should be accompanied by the administration of Rabies Immune Globulin, human (HRIG).
By the time we are done with the rabies series (three more shots over the next two weeks), we will have spent a great deal of money. Please use this as a cautionary tale. Always keep your screens closed. If a bat does take up residency in your bedroom, capture it and get it to animal control. Those two things we did not do and we are sorry about that. However, the rabies vaccine was the right thing to do in our circumstance. It is 100% effective while the disease is almost 100% fatal. Another one of life's tough lessons... Yikes.
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1 comments:
Oh my goodness, that is horrible. Are you two ok?
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