Squirrel Girl wrote: I probably would go along with the CDC. But that's when a *bat* gets in *my house*. Not when *I* go in to a *bat's house.*
The deal is that it's out of the ordinary for a bat to come into a person's house. I don't think I'd worry too much if there were a few roosting in my attic (though I might try and rid them). But based on incidents where people died of rabies after having had bats in their house with no known contact, I'd worry about it, now, too.
That's different than bazillions of "spelunkers" going into caves and never getting rabies.
What she said. There is a huge difference in rabies risk depending on whether the bat is in its normal environment doing what it ought to be doing compared to one that decides to invade someone's house. In that case, it's much more likely to be rabid. More than 75% of those tested in those circumstances were rabid in one study:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no3/pape.htm
Same deal with a dog etc. If it's acting normal, no big worries. If it's acting weird, way big worries if you get bit. And a lick is plenty if your skin is broken. Leave 'em alone in a cave or use gloves if you HAVE to handle them.
I got pre-exposure shots prior to an expedition, more from a fear of dogs than bats. I've been more exposed in the USA and have not checked titers or gotten boosted. The advantage to pre-exposure shots is that you have fewer shots if you're bitten and deemed to need the full course and if you get bit it's felt you have a longer cushion before getting the rest of the course is critical (read, if you get bit abroad, you have time to come home before getting the rest of your shots).
Roger Mortimer, MD