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Utah parents are urged to keep their children away from bats amid new reports of rabies cases in the state.
Two more bats were diagnosed with the disease – which is almost always fatal in humans – in the Salt Lake City area last week, one found lying in a local skate park and the second on a residential street .
Residents are asked to avoid all bats, as those that come into contact with humans are more likely to be infected with the deadly virus, and to keep their pets and children away from animals.
At least four other states – Colorado, Florida, Ohio and South Carolina – have also reported rabid bats in the past month, with Florida placing a county of nearly half a million residents under a two-month alert for the disease.
Utah parents urged to keep their children away from bats in the state amid new reports of rabies cases (stock image)
A rabies-infected bat was discovered at Smith Fields Park Skatepark in Draper, near Salt Lake City, on August 26 after being reported by residents.
That same week, a second speedy bat was found on a residential street in Midvale, also in the Salt Lake City area.
The National Park Service reported another bat with rabies in Arches National Park on August 25, and in early June three bats with the disease were also detected in the Salt Lake City area.
No human rabies cases or deaths have been reported in the state to date, but authorities say an average of 15 bats test positive for the virus each year.
A Utah Department of Health spokesperson said: “Parents whose children frequent (the parks) should ask their children if they have encountered a bat and contact (the department) if anyone has touched or been touched by a bat.
The local police department added: “If you – or your child or teenager – have touched or been touched by a bat in the skate park this week, please call the health department to be assessed for medication. rabies prevention.
“Rabies is considered 100% fatal if not treated before symptoms appear.
“If you encounter a bat, DO NOT TOUCH IT or try to harm it.”
Health chiefs are expressing concern over the finding of rabid bats, as these animals are the leading cause of human deaths from rabies in the United States.
People are most likely to become infected in late August and September, when potentially infected young bats have fledged and are learning to feed.
This poses a higher risk of infection, as young bats are still learning to feed and are therefore more likely to come into contact with humans.
The bite of an infected bat, regardless of its age, can transmit the rabies virus, which is transmitted from animals to humans through saliva.
Animals often leave bite marks or scratches on people so small that no wounds are visible.
And the lack of a bite mark makes the bite mark even more worrying, as someone could be bitten by a rabid bat and not know it.
Symptoms of rabies appear one to three months after exposure and rapidly progress to hallucinations, delirium and hydrophobia – a fear of water – followed closely by death.
But the disease – which is more than 99% fatal in humans once symptoms appear – can be treated with an aggressive drug regimen, such as receiving multiple vaccines. However, the diet must be started on the day of the show.
A rabid bat has also been reported in Arches National Park, which attracts around 1.5 million visitors each year.
Less than one percent of bats are infected with the virus, according to official estimates.
But those who act strangely or come into contact with humans are up to ten times more likely to carry the disease.
Some bats infected with rabies show no symptoms of the disease.
In addition to residents of Utah, those in Seminole County, Florida are on rabies alert after a rabid bat was found in the area.
The alert was declared on September 1 after the bat was found near Sunrise Community Park in the Oviedo neighborhood. It will be in place for 60 days.
Authorities in Colorado also raised concerns about rabies on August 30 after a bat infected with the disease was detected in the Paonia area in the west of the state.
In South Carolina, authorities also reported the presence of bats and rabid raccoons in Oconee County in late August.
No humans were exposed, but three cats and two dogs were said to have come into contact with the bat carcass. The animals are now in quarantine.
And in Cincinnati, Ohio, 14 cases of people coming into contact with bats have been reported, mostly inside their homes.
About two to three Americans die each year from rabies, according to official estimates, with numbers kept low through prompt treatment and efforts to discourage contact with potentially sick animals.
People who are feared to have been exposed to rabies are given post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for rabies – a vaccine and treatment with artificial antibodies.
This involves injecting patients with a dose of synthetic anti-rabies antibodies to fight the infection as soon as they are exposed.
People suspected of having been exposed to rabies also receive four doses of a rabies vaccine over two weeks. The rabies vaccine contains a small spike protein from the surface of the rabies virus to prepare the immune system to fight the real virus if infected.