RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Bat Flu? Human Risk Unclear

For the first time, scientists have found evidence of flu in bats, reporting a never-before-seen virus whose risk to humans is unclear.

The surprising discovery of genetic fragments of a flu virus is the first well-documented report of it in the winged mammals. So far, scientists haven't been able to grow it, and it's not clear if — or how well — it spreads.

Flu bugs are common in humans, birds and pigs and have even been seen in dogs, horses, seals and whales, among others. About five years ago, Russian virologists claimed finding flu in bats, but they never offered evidence.

"Most people are fairly convinced we had already discovered flu in all the possible" animals, said Ruben Donis, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who co-authored the new study.

Scientists suspect that some bats caught flu centuries ago and that the virus mutated within the bat population into this new variety. Scientists haven't even been able to grow the new virus in chicken eggs or in human cell culture, as they do with more conventional flu strains.

But it still could pose a threat to humans. For example, if it mingled with more common forms of influenza, it could swap genes and mutate into something more dangerous, a scenario at the heart of the global flu epidemic movie "Contagion."

The research was posted online Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The CDC has an international outpost in Guatemala, and that's where researchers collected more than 300 bats in 2009 and 2010. The research was mainly focused on rabies, but the scientists also checked specimens for other germs and stumbled upon the new virus. It was in the intestines of little yellow-shouldered bats, said Donis, a veterinarian by training.

These bats eat fruit and insects but don't bite people. Yet it's possible they could leave the virus on produce and a human could get infected by taking a bite.

It's conceivable some people were infected with the virus in the past. Now that scientists know what it looks like, they are looking for it in other bats as well as humans and other animals, said Donis, who heads the Molecular Virology and Vaccines Branch in the CDC's flu division.

At least one expert said CDC researchers need to do more to establish they've actually found a flu virus.

Technically, what the CDC officials found was genetic material of a flu virus. They used a lab technique to find genes for the virus and amplify it.

All they found was a segment of genetic material, said Richard "Mick" Fulton, a bird disease researcher at Michigan State University.

What they should do is draw blood from more bats, try to infect other bats and take other steps to establish that the virus is spreading among the animals, he continued. "In my mind, if you can't grow the virus, how do you know that the virus is there?"

Donis said work is going on to try to infect healthy bats, but noted there are other viruses that were discovered by genetic sequencing.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Bats Found At Elementary School

The School District of Pickens County is working to remove bats that have invaded the gym at Clemson Elementary.

District spokeswoman Julie Thompson told News 4 the gym was closed to everyone on Jan. 13 after the bats were discovered in the eaves of the building.

In a statement, Thompson said, "District officials are actively exploring options to determine the number of bats, how they have entered the gym, when they can be removed, and how they can be removed. We assure everyone that the health and safety of our students and staff are priorities as we find the best solution to dealing with the situation. We are also committed to keeping Clemson Elementary parents fully informed at all times."

One parent said he didn't mind the District erring on the side of caution.

"It's kind of random. You don't really give bats much thought, and when you hear about them in the school, it's not something you're expecting to hear from your school," the parent said. "I understand (the District has) to do what they have to do. They'll get the bats out soon."

Third-grader Ethan Richard said he didn't mind the bats.

"I think they're pretty cool," said Richard. "Well, not the part where we can't go to (physical education class)."

Richard's recreational basketball games are also played at the school's gym. For the time being, the games have been moved to a local church's gym.

"I hope (the bats) find a nice place, so they can survive, but not at our gym," said Richard.

Fifth grader Caitlin Pargue said instead of the gym, students are playing games and doing art during P.E.

"It's not that fun," said Pargue. "I don't like (the bats). They're scary."

This isn't the first time bats have been found at a Pickens County school.

In 2009, wildlife experts set up traps to remove and relocate bats that had invaded Gettys Middle School.

Thompson said the District is still "in the planning stages" of how to move the bats this time.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Rabies Death Heightens Awareness of Virus in Bats

Historically, rabies came with a warning.

A dog or other infected animal, staggering, perhaps foaming at the mouth, would launch an attack for no apparent reason.

Seeing this, people knew to back away.

Pet vaccinations and prompt medical treatment have all but eliminated human loss of life due to rabies. Until last week, the last death due to rabies in Massachusetts was recorded in 1935.

But a Barnstable man died Monday in a Boston hospital, the victim of an attack which came in a way for which little or no warning or protection exists.

A rabid bat likely got into his house and bit him, perhaps without his even being aware of it because such bites can have the size and appearance of a pin prick.

Kevin Galvin, 63, of the Barnstable village of Marstons Mills died Monday at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to the Cape Cod Times. State and local public health officials would not confirm the cause of death, The Times reported.

His obituary did not specify a cause of death, but the Times obtained his death certificate at Boston City Hall on Friday. The certificate listed rabies encephalitis as the cause of death.

Since 1995, rabid bats have been responsible for 32 of the 33 cases of rabies in those contracted the illness in this country and died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Nevertheless, simply finding a bat in your home “should not necessarily be a cause for alarm and does not necessarily mean that an exposure to rabies has occurred,” said Jennifer L. Manley, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health. “Less than 1 percent of bats in the wild are likely to be infected with rabies at any given time.”

Rabies Signs and Symptom

• CDC: What are the signs and symptoms of rabies?

Rabies, which attacks the central nervous system of an infected person or animal, is caused by a virus spread through saliva. The illness has been known for at least 4,000 years.

Rabies in bats was first detected in Massachusetts in 1961. Raccoon rabies appeared in Massachusetts in 1992, and that form has also spread to skunks and foxes.

The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined from more than 100 annually in the early 1900s to one or two a year now.

Modern-day treatment following an exposure to the virus is nearly 100 percent effective. However, if the infection goes untreated, as it did with the man in Barnstable, once the symptoms appear, rabies is nearly always fatal.

In December, a Montague man was bitten by a fox that tested positive for rabies. However, treatment, which involves a series of shots, was immediate, and the man is expected to recover.

According to the Centers for Disease Control website, “In the United States, human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure.”

That is what makes a bite or scratch from a rabid bat such a concern; it may go unnoticed because bat teeth are small and razor sharp, and a bite or scratch may leave a barely visible mark.

While bat populations have been declining in the region because of a fungal infection that afflicts them called white-nose syndrome, bats, such as the little brown bat, are still abundant, and they often seek shelter in homes to overwinter and can emerge in living areas.

In 2010, nearly 700 bats that were found dead or captured in homes were submitted to the state lab for testing, and about 2 percent were found to be rabid. Bats living in the wild are thought to have a lower rate of infection.

Manley said, “Any direct contact with a bat should be evaluated for an exposure.”

“In addition, situations in which a bat bite might go undetected should also be evaluated as possible exposures,” she said. “Such situations include finding a bat in the same room as a deeply sleeping person, an unattended child, a mentally incapacitated individual, an intoxicated person or a pet.”

And if you are bitten or scratched by any animal, state health officials advise washing the wound with soap and water for 10 minutes and then calling your health care provider to determine if you need to be treated for a rabies exposure.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Bat in Box Prompts Rabies Concern, Health Department Says Man Showed Bat to People Last Week

An unusual sight in downtown Providence last week as an unidentified man was in Kennedy Plaza, showing off a bat he had in a box.

It happened around 8:45 in the morning on January 23rd.

"This bat, we don't know if it had rabies or not", says Peter Hanney, Department of Health spokesperson. "So out of an abundance of caution we're asking people to please give us a call at the Department of Health."

Health officials were first alerted to the incident by a health care provider who treated two people who came in contact with the bat.

"Two individuals were treated, one for a bat bite and the other for suspected rabies exposure. They informed the health care provider that they received this from a bat in a box from an individual in Kennedy Plaza," adds Hanney.

Health officials say they're concerned about the incident because five percent of all bats have rabies and bat rabies is extremely contagious.

"There's different types of rabies, and the bat strain is really contagious. It doesn't need to be from a bite. It can be just from the saliva if it gets into any mucous membranes or small cuts that you may have on you, you can contract rabies that way too. left untreated it is deadly," says Hanney.

The unidentified man who originally had the bat in a box is in his 50's, about six feet tall with a beard and he was wearing glasses at the time.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Bats Disturbing High School

They're baaack. Bats are lurking in a Charlotte-area high school and it's not the first time.

Students first spotted one bat in a classroom at North Mecklenburg High School before Christmas break. The building was evacuated and the problem was supposedly taken care of. But Monday morning before school, a staffer found another one.

The N Hall is a building on campus that normally houses six classes. It’s closed and quarantined after the health department removed eight bats from inside.

Senior Guy McCrary admitted he’s grossed out. Other students are, too. But they’re not surprised because North Mecklenburg High is 60-years-old.

“It does freak you out. Bats, rabbits, cockroaches, mice—what’s next,” he added.

“They keep finding more and more. I don't feel safe with my daughter back in that hall,” said one student’s mother, who did not want to be identified.

Principal Matt Hayes says when they closed the hole the first time around, some bats were trapped inside.

“By closing the hole, other bats were hiding. We had bats hiding. Now that we closed the hole they don’t have an exit point,” he said.

Instead, he says there is a one-way door to flush them out. In addition, CMS has removed all ceiling tiles to verify there are no other holes.

The problem, they say, is that bats only need a hole the size of a nickel to squeeze through. A private pest control company is working with CMS to get rid of the bats and students are expected to be allowed back in those classrooms on Monday.

A health department spokesman says they tested one bat and it came back negative for rabies. He says they don’t have to test all of the bats because no one came in contact with the others.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

click on image to enlarge

The customer gets an occasional bat inside the home. They have no attic though? Then they moved a vent pipe in the upstairs bathroom and this black debris fell out and it looked like mouse poop? I obviously told them that this is bat guano and there was a considerable amount. Then I showed them the stains in their soffets around the perimeter of their house. They never thought those stains were from bats, they thought it was rust or from the wood.

Based on the picture you can tell there is a considerable amount of guano inside the soffet. The bats were getting inside the soffet through the rake board siding which did not form a tight seal with the soffet. This very small and inconspicuous void was all the bats needed to use the soffet as their little cave.

EHS sealed all the roof line voids and installed one-way doors (bat cones) to allow the bats to humanely exit the soffet. We returned one week later to remove the one-way doors and complete the exclusion. Another successful EHS bat job and a very thankful customer!

Justin McDavid
Wildlife Specialist
Environmental Health Services, Inc.

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA