Slight ignorance and you could risk your life.
A live, rabies-infected bat was found in Bangor. The bat was found in the vicinity of Shaw house, in the open area. And was later taken to the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL).
On weekends of 16th and 17th March, this bat was passed on to several people, who caressed it with their bare hands. All the people who were in direct physical contact with a bat, were later diagnosed as rabid.
The Maine Centre For Disease Control is still trying to locate all the people who were in direct contact with the bat. Rabies is a viral, infectious disease.
This disease gets transferred from one animal to another or from an infected animal to a human when the animal scratches or bites the latter. Rabies can be fatal and dogs are considered to be mostly involved in this disease.
Rabies can be prevented if the immediate cure is taken, without any delay. ‘There is no risk for the general public, this rabid bat will only affect people who with their bare hands touched the bat’, said Maine CDC.
Maine CDC has also requested people who touched the rabid bat to contact the healthcare service, discuss the risks and take a decision if prophylaxis is needed.
Maine CDC has issued certain guidelines for preventing rabies and requested people to co-operate and avoid a foreseen epidemic.
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