We went on vacation, and the house we stayed in was infested with bats. No bats in the room where the baby was sleeping, but I’m wondering if I should get her the rabies vaccine. What does the data say?
–– Very anxious mama
Oof, this is tough. I am right there with you — literally, when my daughter was 3, we found a dead bat in a vacation house, tested it, and it had rabies. We all had to get rabies shots. I won’t get into it, but this is not an experience I’m interested in reliving.
People tend to be very cautious about bat exposure for two reasons. First, you can be bitten or exposed to bat saliva without really knowing it, and bats can get in through small spaces. So even if you didn’t find the bat in the room with your child, it is possible they were in there. Second, rabies is incredibly scary, and once you have it, the mortality rate is close to 100%.
Wait, though! Most bat exposures do not lead to rabies, so these probabilities are super, super small. And rabies vaccination “post-exposure” (which is what you are talking about) is incredibly involved and expensive. It’s not just a vaccine; you’ve actually got to get an immunoglobulin injection to start with.
Putting these together: The circumstances do matter. It depends a bit on what you mean by “infested by bats.” If you found a dead bat, or there was a bat in one of the rooms, or there is a known rabies exposure, then definitely you should all get the vaccine. If it is just that you were staying in a house and there were bats in the attic that you found out about but didn’t see, that’s a different story.
I would (obviously) call your doctor and probably also the animal control people since they have a better sense of the probabilities in your area.
I’m sorry! I hope everyone is safe.
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Sorry- correction to above info. There a different vaccine schedules, so yours may not need 4 series. You should discuss that with your doctor.
Hello Anxious Mama! I’m so sorry for the anxiety of this situation, especially on vacation. I had the same thing happen! We rented out a home for a few nights and on the last night, while playing cards, a bat was suddenly circling the high ceiling. I had heard a strange noise from the chimney the night before, but brushed it off. We left the house immediately and then came the struggle of the whether or not to get the vaccine. We had 3 little girls at the time: 8 months, 2.5, 4.5 years old. I really couldn’t answer our exposure risk because while I never seen a bat before that point, I had a nonverbal child (8 month old) who wouldn’t be able to communicate if a bat had been in her room and we had kept the door open to the other girls’ room at night. We were not able to capture the bat to test for rabies, so there were many unknowns. I’m sure the probability was *very* small. First, the bat had to have rabies (unknown). Second, the bat would have to have licked or bit one of the girls (unknown). However, it can take up to a year to show symptoms of rabies and it begins with a fever. This is sooo common in little kids and that’s a really long time to feel like you are out of the woods. My daughter, actually, ran a low grade fever two days after the vacation, before we made a decision about the vaccines, and I would lose my mind! We did consult with our pediatrician, animal control, and Department of Health. For us, we went for the rabies series. But, it wasn’t easy. It’s a four part series, and I had to help the girls every time: buy them books the nurses would sign, get them candy, help with tears before and after. But, that part is specific to my children. Your little one may handle shots much easier. Whatever you decide, I am wishing you strength and peace. You are a wonderful Mama who truly cares if you are here asking! Parenting is full of so many grey areas and this really felt like one.