Story Category: Press Releases »

On July 24, 2012, the Charles County Department of Health learned that a bat retrieved from an apartment in the Huntington Apartments in St. Charles, Waldorf, tested positive for rabies.  The Department of Health subsequently learned that there were other reports and sightings of bats in and around the apartments.  Apartment management hired a licensed wildlife control contractor who is actively working to resolve this issue.  The Department of Health is educating residents about potential public health risks of exposure to bats and conducting risk assessments for all residents.  The health concern regarding bats is that a small percentage of the bat population is infected with rabies, a fatal disease that is transmitted in infected saliva to all mammals, including people.

 
Anyone residing, previously residing or visiting overnight in the Huntington Apartments from January 1, 2012, to present is requested to attend a community meeting at Benjamin Stoddard Middle School 2040 Saint Thomas Drive, Waldorf, on Tuesday, July 31, at 6 p.m. for a briefing on the situation and to be assessed for potential bat exposure. If any resident cannot attend the meeting, they are requested to call the Charles County Department of Health at 301-609-6840 during regular hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 240-216-4055 after hours for a risk assessment for potential exposure to bats.

Bats are an important part of our environment; however, they can sometimes be infected with rabies. Rabies is a viral disease of mammals that can be transmitted by infectious saliva, usually through a bite. While the disease is almost invariably fatal after the onset of clinical signs, it is preventable if preventive treatment (known as "post-exposure prophylaxis") is administered after a bite or exposure to infectious saliva.  For healthy individuals, preventive treatment consists of rabies immune globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine administered over two weeks.

Charles County Deputy Health Officer, Dr. Dianna E. Abney, states that, "Bats are an essential part of the ecosystem and simply being around bats does not necessarily expose a person to rabies.  However, risk increases when humans come into contact with bats.  Bat bites, unlike dog bites, are less recognizable because of how small and sharp bat teeth are."

Dr. Abney adds that some exposures may go unnoticed such as when a person is sleeping in the same room as a bat or if a bat is in the same room as an infant.  If this is the case, it is recommended that post exposure treatment to prevent rabies may be considered. 

Although human rabies is very rare in the United States, bats have been the most common source of the infection for recent human cases in this country.  However, most bats do not have rabies and therefore cannot transmit the virus. If a person or pet is exposed to a bat, the bat should be collected safely if possible, and tested for rabies. 

Bats present a risk of exposure to rabies not only to humans but to pets as well. In order to protect both pets and their owners from rabies, all dog, cat, and ferret owners are required by law to have their pets vaccinated against rabies. Any pet that may have come in contact with a bat at the Huntington Apartments should receive a booster vaccination against rabies. 

For questions about bats and rabies, contact the Charles County Department of Health at 301-609-6840 during regular hours.  For general information, visit the Charles County Department of Health website at www.CharlesCountyHealth.org.