Bat handlers, bat bites, and rabies: vaccination and serological testing of humans at risk
M. Brock Fenton,
Paul A. Faure,
Enrico Bernard,
Daniel J. Becker,
Alan C. Jackson,
Tigga Kingston,
Peter H.C. Lina,
Wanda Markotter,
Susan M. Moore,
Samira Mubareka,
Paul A. Racey,
Charles E. Rupprecht,
Lisa Worledge
Affiliations
M. Brock Fenton
Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
Paul A. Faure
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Enrico Bernard
Laboratório de Ciência Aplicada à Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco Rua Nelson Chaves s/n, Cidade Universitária - Recife PE, 50670-901, Brazil
Daniel J. Becker
School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
Alan C. Jackson
Department of Clinical Neurosciences (Neurology), University of Calgary, Calgary, 1215-123 4th St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 8K3, Canada
Tigga Kingston
Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3131, USA
Peter H.C. Lina
Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, Leiden 2300 RA, the Netherlands
Wanda Markotter
Department of Medical Virology, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, P.O. Box 323, Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa
Susan M. Moore
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
Samira Mubareka
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Room B1.03, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
Paul A. Racey
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Treliever Road, Penryn TR10 9EZ, United Kingdom
Charles E. Rupprecht
Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
Lisa Worledge
Bat Conservation Trust, Studio 15 Cloisters House, Cloisters Business Centre, 8 Battersea Park Road, London SW8 4BG, United Kingdom
Globally, bats provide critical ecosystem services. Rabies, caused by rabies virus and related lyssaviruses, is one of the most significant zoonoses associated with bats. Bat biologists study bats in the laboratory and the field. To minimize the risk of disease, all bat handlers should be vaccinated against rabies and undergo routine serological testing to measure their rabies virus neutralizing antibody levels. They should use best practices to avoid exposures, such as personal protective equipment, especially gloves appropriate to the size of the bat(s) being handled. Attention to such details will prevent unnecessary exposures and avoid some of the accompanying negative perceptions that endanger bats on a global level. The small body sizes of many bats (<50 g, many <20 g) and small teeth makes their defensive bites easy to overlook. Breaks in the skin, however small, may result in exposure to lyssaviruses in the animals’ saliva. Exposure to blood-feeding bats is less common because these species are geographically restricted to the Neotropics and are the only species whose natural feeding behavior could involve transmission of rabies virus. Understanding viral transmission, preventing exposures, and responding appropriately to bites will minimize the consequences of this deadly zoonosis.
