News Release

All bat handlers should get rabies jab

Editorial: Bat rabies BMJ Volume 326, p 726

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMJ

All bat handlers in the United Kingdom should be immunised against rabies, following the death of a bat conservationist in Scotland last year, according to an expert in this week's BMJ.

In the UK, classic rabies was eliminated from the animal reservoir in the 1920s, writes Derrick Pounder, Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Dundee. Last year's death was caused by a closely related virus and was the first fatality since 1902 from rabies acquired in the UK.

Bat rabies virus has been found in two bats in the UK. Both infected bats found were Daubenton's bats, one of 16 bat species resident in Britain. They rarely roost in houses and rarely come into contact with people, so the risk of a member of the public coming into contact with an infected bat seems very low, says the author.

However, more than 1000 volunteers in Britain are handling bats regularly for conservation and welfare and therefore should all be immunised against rabies.

Other occupations or recreational activities bringing people into close contact with bats might also justify immunisation, he adds. Currently available vaccines are safe and effective against both bat viruses and the classic rabies virus.

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