Wyoming school's "pet" bat has rabies

[Wayne Harrison]

Two at school treated for possible exposure to rabid bat
By JARED MILLER
Casper Star-Tribune

CHEYENNE - Two staff members at a private Riverton school are being treated for possible rabies exposure after a bat kept as a classroom pet tested positive for the potentially deadly disease.

State and county health officials on Tuesday interviewed all 95 staff members and students at Trinity Lutheran School to determine the level of contact with the animal.

They opted to treat a teacher and a teaching assistant who had a "high risk for exposure," said Marty Stensaas, county manager for Fremont County Public Health Nursing.

State health officials, including state epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Murphy, planned to meet Wednesday night with parents and school staff members to address questions and make recommendations about possible additional preventive measures. Several doses of rabies vaccine were rushed to Riverton Memorial Hospital in the event that parents opt to have their children receive the lengthy and expensive series of shots, Stensaas said.

"You just have to be careful any time there is a possible rabies exposure because it can be a deadly disease in humans," Stensaas said.

A staff member on May 9 discovered the bat in the school basement, where it was captured and stored in a cage in Steve Coniglio's seventh- and eighth-grade classroom.

It was also displayed in other classrooms, and students fed it crickets through the cage. No one is believed to have touched the bat directly, head teacher Susan Tucker said.

Full story:
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles ... -rabid.txt

[MoonshineR DavE]

Oops! Sounds like someones going to need some

[Ralph E. Powers]

Well, that story isn't going to help the bats in general. Only confirm some misconceptions and make them harder to love by the public.

Sigh...

[MoonshineR DavE]

Well, that story isn't going to help the bats in general. Only confirm some misconceptions and make them harder to love by the public.

Sigh...

[NZcaver]

Well, that story isn't going to help the bats in general. Only confirm some misconceptions and make them harder to love by the public.

Sigh...

True, but maybe this will open some eyes too. Bats should be respected as wild creatures, not adopted as cute pets...

[Bobatnathrop]

Jeremy runs to release his secret bat army and decides to use squirrels instead

But really, that is not good, for the bat and the school. Rabies isn't very common anymore is it? The last time I heard about rabies was like 12 years ago when I watched Old Yeller, poor dog..

[mabercrombie]

Its still pretty common in the raccoon and skunk populations here in North Gergia.

[Caverdale]

But really, that is not good, for the bat and the school. Rabies isn't very common anymore is it? The last time I heard about rabies was like 12 years ago when I watched Old Yeller, poor dog..

According to BCI: "Bat rabies accounts for approximately one human death per year in the United States." I believe that other animals contribute more than this annually.