FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 June 18, 2008

Anderson County residents exposed to rabies by bats

COLUMBIA – An Anderson family is under a doctor’s care and receiving inoculations to prevent rabies after being exposed to a bat that has tested positive for the disease, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced Wednesday.

"People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat,” said Sue Ferguson of DHEC’s Bureau of Environmental Health. "However, bats have small teeth that may leave marks not easily seen, and some situations require that you seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound.

"For example, if you awaken and find a bat in your room or if you see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, seek medical advice and have the bat tested," Ferguson said.

According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of the recent human rabies cases in the U.S. have been caused by rabies virus from bats.

"Because rabies is fatal to humans and animals, anyone bitten, scratched or otherwise exposed to the saliva of a rabid animal must undergo immediate preventive measures to stop the virus from reaching the brain," Ferguson said. "If you are bitten or scratched by a wild animal or domestic pet, immediately wash the wound with plenty of soap and water. DHEC advises the public to be sure to get immediate medical attention for any possible exposure to the saliva of a rabid animal and to report the incident to DHEC."

Ferguson said that about 400 South Carolinians have to undergo preventive treatment for rabies every year after being bitten by a rabid or suspected rabid animal.

This is the fifth confirmed rabid animal in Anderson County in 2008. In 2007, two animals were confirmed with rabies in the county and there were 162 confirmed cases of rabies in animals in South Carolina. So far this year, there have been 66 confirmed cases in animals in the state.

For more information about rabies, see DHEC's Web page at: www.scdhec.gov/rabies, or contact DHEC’s Anderson County Environmental Health Office at (864) 260-5585. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web page about rabies can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies.

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For more information:
 Clair Boatwright – (803) 898-4461
E-mail – boatwrc@dhec.sc.gov

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