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Public Health
Seattle & King County
401 5th Ave., Suite 1300
Seattle, WA 98104
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Phone: 206-296-4600
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Health Care Providers
Clinical Assessment and Management of Potential Rabies Exposures in King County
Appendix B - Rabies and Animal Bite Information for Patients
Bats and Rabies Fact Sheet
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- Rabies is a viral disease of the brain and nervous system that is always fatal once symptoms begin. In Washington State, most cases of animal rabies are in bats. Most bats, however, do not carry rabies, and most of the bats tested for rabies in Washington are not infected.
- A healthy bat typically avoids any contact with humans or animals. Because rabies is a life threatening disease, caution must be taken when bats come into contact with humans or animals.
- What kind of contact with a bat could transmit rabies?
- Rabid bats frequently lose their ability to fly, or do not fly well. Rarely, a bat that has rabies can be aggressive. Rabies is transmitted when an infected bat bites or scratches a person's skin. Bat bites may not be noticed because bat teeth are very tiny and razor sharp. Examining a person for evidence of a bat bite is unreliable, because a bat bite can be no bigger than a needle prick. Therefore, any physical (or direct) contact with a bat should be considered a possible rabies exposure.
- Bats flying overhead and bats that have not had direct physical contact with humans or animals do not pose a risk for transmitting rabies. If someone wakes up to find a bat in the room, or a bat is found in the room of an unattended small child, an intoxicated or mentally incapacitated person, or pet, then the possibility exists that a bat bite, scratch, or direct contact, may have occurred. These situations and any bat bite, scratch, or other direct contact with a bat are considered rabies exposures.
- What should be done if a bat may have bitten, scratched or had direct contact with a person, child or pet?
- It is very important to attempt to capture a bat that is known or suspected to have bitten, scratched, or had direct contact with a person or pet, so that it can be tested for rabies. Testing is important because testing can confirm whether rabies vaccination is necessary to prevent rabies.
- If direct contact is likely to have occurred, but the bat is not available for testing, Public Health recommends that the exposed person receive treatment to prevent rabies. Often rabies treatment can be avoided if the bat is tested for rabies.
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