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The number of bats carrying rabies appears to increase early in the summer season, according to state health authorities.
Up to now, 22 bats have been tested positive for rabies this year. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, nine bats have been tested positive. A total of 35 bats were tested positive for rabies in the state last year.
Two skunks were also tested positive for rabies this year.
Lynn Sutfin, spokesperson for the Department of Public Health fluctuates from one year to the next.
Dan O. Brien, veterinarian veterinarian at the Wildlife Diseases Laboratory of the Department of Natural Resources in Lansing, says that he will know more about the causes of recovery by the end of this year. l & # 39; summer.
Bats with rabies show no sign of the deadly disease, says O. Brien.
"There is nothing unusual about a rabid bat," says O & # 39; Brien
. – Like raccoons and skunks – can have strange behavior, such as being active at different times of the day or entering areas that they might otherwise avoid, O 'Brien says: "While rabies is rare in people, its severity makes us with great concern, "said Mr. O. Brien
. nters for control and prevention of diseases reports 23 cases of human rabies during the last decade.In Michigan, the last case of human rabies was reported in 2009 – after contact with a bat, according to the CDC.
Young bats are hunted from their nests during the summer. summer, which leads to more bats in homes.
People may be exposed to rabies when they are bitten or scratched by an infected animal, and should immediately seek treatment and inform the health department County officials Health also encourage people to collect bat for rabies tests if the bat has been found in a room where people have slept, near a child unattended or d & # 39; a disabled adult.
MNR and health officials do not recommend that owners kill bats.
"In general, they do it by blunt trauma: if you destroy his brain, we can not test him for rabies."
Leaving bats flying out of a home is not advised by health officials – unless there is no chance that the Bat does not bite you or scratch you, O? Brien says. "Bats usually get angry with each other, grooming or fighting," said O. Brien. Although only about five percent of bats test positive rabies, they have a bad reputation, says O. Brien.
"These are really cool animals that have a lot of ecological characteristics," says O & # 39; Brien. ]
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