The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR District Health Unit) is asking for the public’s assistance in locating an individual who may have been exposed to rabies on Friday, March 14th in the Lindsay region.
On March 14th at the corner of Kent Street West and Adelaide Street in Lindsay a bat was handled and moved from the road and placed on a tree around 5 p.m. EST. The bat was then transferred to a wildlife sanctuary where it showed signs of illness. The bat was sent for testing and confirmed to be positive for rabies.
The individual who handled the bat is not in trouble but is being asked to promptly contact the health unit by calling 1-866-888-4577 x 5006 to confirm if exposure (bite/scratch) occurred and to determine if they need to seek medical attention immediately.
“This serves as a reminder to our community to please stay away from bats and other animals that can carry rabies,” said Richard Ovcharovich, Manager of Environmental Health for the HKPR District Health Unit. “Humans are at risk of infection if they’ve been bitten or had direct contact with an animal’s saliva, through open wounds or scratches.”
Rabies is a deadly viral disease that affects the central nervous system of warm-blooded mammals, including humans. The most common transmitters of the disease in Ontario are bats, foxes, skunks, and raccoons; however infected pets and other domestic animals can also spread rabies. Rabies can be transmitted to humans when there is contact with the saliva of an infected mammal through a bite, scratch or licking of an open wound.
If you see a raccoon, skunk, bat or other wild or stray animal that’s dead, sick or acting strangely do not touch or go near the animal and contact animal services.
When it comes to bats, the Health Unit offers these tips:
• If you have been bitten or had direct contact with a bat, immediately report this to your family doctor and the HKPR District Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 5006. Direct contact is defined as the bat touching or landing on a person.
• If you find a bat in your house but there is no direct contact, no one was bitten or scratched, open windows and doors in the area to the outside, close off the rest of the house, keep people and pets away, turn off lights and leave the bat for a few hours to allow it to leave. If it does not leave, call an animal control or a pest control company for assistance.
• When there is no direct contact with a bat, the risk of rabies is extremely rare.
• If there has been direct contact from a bat that is discovered in your home, do NOT attempt to capture or kill the bat yourself. Leave the room, close the door and contact a professional pest control company or wildlife removal company to attempt to capture it using appropriate personal protective equipment.
Bat will need to be humanely euthanized and tested for rabies.
• If you have bats living on your property and want to remove them, contact a professional pest control company or wildlife removal company.
• If you discover a bat outdoors that is injured, acting strange or dead, do not touch it.
• As bats can transmit the rabies virus to dogs and cats, ensure your pets are up to date on their rabies
vaccinations and keep dogs on a leash under your control.
• Bat-proof the home. If bats are found in the home, seek advice from an animal control or wildlife conservation authority. If doing it yourself, carefully examine your home for holes that might allow bats entry into your living quarters, then take steps to seal them. For instance, caulk any openings larger than a quarter inch by a half inch, ensure all doors to the outside close tightly, and use window screens, chimney caps, and draft-guards beneath doors to attics.
For more information, please visit hkpr.on.ca/rabies.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
