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BURLEY, Idaho (AP) – A treatment for Burley's wildlife, bitten by a raging Twin Falls bat, is being processed and says a protocol needs to be put in place for professionals to health be aware of rabies bites treatments.
Debbie Moeller said that a man had found the 3-inch-long brown bat on the ground in front of a downtown Twin Falls business and had driven it to Burley.
When Moeller attempted to transfer the bat on July 14 to a container to send to Animals in Distress, Boise, which rehabilitates wildlife, the animal bit through his glove.
"I felt all his little teeth get into my skin," Moeller told the Times-News. "But at that time, it was only a dubious bat, and I did not know that she was suffering from rabies."
When Moeller removed his glove, the bite marks were not really detectable.
"But I felt it when he was biting and I knew what had happened and that it was considered a bite and that I was in danger," said Moeller, who had not received the pre-exposure rabies vaccine, because of the prohibitive cost of $ 1,500, which is not covered by his insurance.
A person has seven days to receive a series of injections after a bite of a rabid animal to prevent a case of rabies, Moeller said. At that time, said Moeller, the bat was not acting strangely. She therefore decided to wait and evaluate her behavior before contacting a doctor.
"At the time, I was worried but hoped that the bat was hurt and not enraged," she said.
The bat continued to eat and drink for a few days and seemed to be fine, then she started to refuse to eat and did not want to hang on, Moeller said.
On July 17, Moeller called a clinic where she consulted a family doctor, but her doctor was not at the office that day. The receptionist spoke to a health professional, on call, who told her that Moeller was aware of her tetanus shots and that she should watch for the occurrence of an infection.
"I was not sure she understood me," said Moeller, who acknowledged that the medical response was incorrect.
She told the receptionist that she had been bitten and suspected that the bat was suffering from rabies. The receptionist checked again and the health care provider repeated the same advice.
"If I was not an informed person and a wildlife rehabilitator, I could die of rabies now," Moeller said.
When a bite of rabies is not treated in time, it is almost always fatal, she said.
The next day, Moeller called her usual doctor, who told her that it was an emergency and that she should immediately go to the hospital.
At the first hospital she went to, Moeller said the bite treatment protocol was confusing and she called the Boise public health veterinarian, who intervened on her behalf.
Moeller ended up going to another hospital for the injections.
She went to the Minidoka Memorial Hospital on July 20 for the first of a series of injections to prevent rabies after a bite.
MMH received anti-rabies immunoglobulin from vaccinated individuals. Hospital staff told him that they felt that it was an emergency and that the hospital did not care that his insurance covers the costs from $ 5,000 to $ 6,000.
"They rallied around me to solve all the problems," Moeller said.
The treatment requires four more injections in addition to the first, the most important, Moeller said. Injections, which are not particularly painful, are spaced out over a period of time. She will finish the treatment on August 2nd.
According to Moeller, injections are not administered in the stomach of a person, as was the case years ago. they are rather placed in a muscle. She receives hers in her legs.
When she started treatment on July 20, she did not know that the bat, who died on July 19, was enraged.
The public health department sent the bat to Boise for badysis and Moeller received confirmation Tuesday of the presence of rabies in the bat.
The South Central Public Health District said in a press release that people should only attempt to capture bats if they can safely do so and avoid contact with the bat.
This year, it was the first bat to be tested positive for rabies in south central Idaho.
Most bats are harmless and do not carry rabies, the statement said. They are the only animal in Idaho to naturally carry the virus. Most animals, including pets, can be exposed to the virus by playing sick bats.
"Fortunately, I had some notions about the anti-rabies protocol because 95% of the population is uninformed and if a doctor tells them that they are fine, they will believe it," Moeller said. . "My concern is that government-wide efforts are needed to obtain accurate information on rabies exposure to clinics and physicians.
Moeller says she's "100% safe" at this point as she started treatment within seven days.
If a person finds a wounded wild animal or an animal acting strangely, it should never touch or manipulate it, she said.
"I'm used to handling wild animals, and I took precautions and bit down," Moeller said.
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
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