Post by L Roebuck on Mar 28, 2006 11:31:07 GMT -5
Officials: Bats at hospital are no cause for panic
By LAURA HENSLEY
Eagle Staff Writer
Health and rabies experts said Monday that a recent flurry of bat sightings inside St. Joseph Regional Health Center may be odd but shouldn't cause panic.
Instead, authorities said, it should serve as a reminder to be cautious around the at-times pesky mammals.
"[The hospital is] certainly not alone," said Beverlee Nix, zoonosis control veterinarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services. "[Bats] get in to public places all over the state. I even had them in my attic. They are all over."
Bats pose a potential health risk, so they should never be handled directly, Nix said. They are the second-most-common species to test positive for rabies in Texas, behind skunks.
Last year, five bats in Brazos County tested positive for rabies. Throughout the state, 257 tested positive during the same period.
Rabies, a deadly viral disease, is usually passed by an infected animal biting another, but no bat bites had been reported to hospital officials as of Monday evening.
Tim Ottinger, spokesman for the hospital, said he was unsure how many bats have been captured or spotted flying around inside the facility since they started appearing over the weekend, but he estimated the number at a "few dozen." Many more were seen outside.
At least one was found inside a patient's room, and another was found inside an unoccupied nursery, Ottinger said. All have been found on the third floor of the hospital, which is the labor and delivery unit. He said the bats continued to be found there alive Monday.
Trained pest-control workers and hospital maintenance crews at St. Joseph's have been patrolling hallways and responding to bat sightings within the hospital, Ottinger said.
Brazos Valley Health Authority Dr. Charles Williams said he urged the hospital to re-evaluate the circumstances under which each bat was found. He said bats have small teeth and their bites are not always visible on the skin, so a sleeping or unconscious person, or even an unattended child, could unknowingly be bitten.
Ottinger said the hospital is working to assess the bat sightings and evaluating which bats, if any, should be tested for rabies.
"This is one instance where caution prevails," he said. "The safety of our patients and team members is very important."
The Mexican freetail bats turned up inside the hospital after a pest-control company hired by the hospital attempted to rid the building of them last week. Some likely were trapped inside during the process and have since sought to escape through the common areas of the facility, Ottinger said.
Barbara French, a biologist with Austin-based Bat Conservation International, said many bats roost in buildings, caves, bridges and tunnels across Texas with few or no problems. She said about 1 million bats call downtown Austin home.
If bats are found in public areas of a building or in the living space of a home, it is usually the result of an improper eradication effort.
"If you do a proper bat eviction, that shouldn't happen," she said. "They usually don't get into the main area of a building unless they are unable to get out."
French said there's no need for people to panic because bats are not vicious and usually bite only in self-defense when directly handled or threatened. Anyone who comes in to contact with a bat, they should not touch it and instead should call animal control or scoop it up with a box, jar or can.
"It's not something people should be horrified about," French said. "Bats are not much of a danger unless they have rabies, and only one- half of one percent of the [bat] population have rabies."
• Laura Hensley's e-mail address is laura.hensley@theeagle.com.
www.theeagle.com/stories/032806/health_20060328025.php
By LAURA HENSLEY
Eagle Staff Writer
Health and rabies experts said Monday that a recent flurry of bat sightings inside St. Joseph Regional Health Center may be odd but shouldn't cause panic.
Instead, authorities said, it should serve as a reminder to be cautious around the at-times pesky mammals.
"[The hospital is] certainly not alone," said Beverlee Nix, zoonosis control veterinarian with the Texas Department of State Health Services. "[Bats] get in to public places all over the state. I even had them in my attic. They are all over."
Bats pose a potential health risk, so they should never be handled directly, Nix said. They are the second-most-common species to test positive for rabies in Texas, behind skunks.
Last year, five bats in Brazos County tested positive for rabies. Throughout the state, 257 tested positive during the same period.
Rabies, a deadly viral disease, is usually passed by an infected animal biting another, but no bat bites had been reported to hospital officials as of Monday evening.
Tim Ottinger, spokesman for the hospital, said he was unsure how many bats have been captured or spotted flying around inside the facility since they started appearing over the weekend, but he estimated the number at a "few dozen." Many more were seen outside.
At least one was found inside a patient's room, and another was found inside an unoccupied nursery, Ottinger said. All have been found on the third floor of the hospital, which is the labor and delivery unit. He said the bats continued to be found there alive Monday.
Trained pest-control workers and hospital maintenance crews at St. Joseph's have been patrolling hallways and responding to bat sightings within the hospital, Ottinger said.
Brazos Valley Health Authority Dr. Charles Williams said he urged the hospital to re-evaluate the circumstances under which each bat was found. He said bats have small teeth and their bites are not always visible on the skin, so a sleeping or unconscious person, or even an unattended child, could unknowingly be bitten.
Ottinger said the hospital is working to assess the bat sightings and evaluating which bats, if any, should be tested for rabies.
"This is one instance where caution prevails," he said. "The safety of our patients and team members is very important."
The Mexican freetail bats turned up inside the hospital after a pest-control company hired by the hospital attempted to rid the building of them last week. Some likely were trapped inside during the process and have since sought to escape through the common areas of the facility, Ottinger said.
Barbara French, a biologist with Austin-based Bat Conservation International, said many bats roost in buildings, caves, bridges and tunnels across Texas with few or no problems. She said about 1 million bats call downtown Austin home.
If bats are found in public areas of a building or in the living space of a home, it is usually the result of an improper eradication effort.
"If you do a proper bat eviction, that shouldn't happen," she said. "They usually don't get into the main area of a building unless they are unable to get out."
French said there's no need for people to panic because bats are not vicious and usually bite only in self-defense when directly handled or threatened. Anyone who comes in to contact with a bat, they should not touch it and instead should call animal control or scoop it up with a box, jar or can.
"It's not something people should be horrified about," French said. "Bats are not much of a danger unless they have rabies, and only one- half of one percent of the [bat] population have rabies."
• Laura Hensley's e-mail address is laura.hensley@theeagle.com.
www.theeagle.com/stories/032806/health_20060328025.php