Elizabeth Heseltine, a Pilbara woman, is recovering. She hadn’t been vaccinated yet because she was bitten by a bat she was attempting to remove from her home. A recent hospitalisation due to Australian bat lyssavirus has raised new and heightened concerns about this disease. This highly pathogenic and often lethal virus can be transmitted by vampire bat bites.
Heseltine’s extraordinary experience with the bat started shortly after she saw it flying inside her house. She was concerned the exotic beast could get stuck in her attic or find itself lunch among her pet felines. In order to catch it, she initially used a towel and eventually attempted to grab it with her bare hands. Sadly, all of her hard work ended in a bite, forcing her to visit an emergency room right away.
The Risks of Bat Interactions
Following the incident, doctors explained to Heseltine just how dangerous bat bites can be. During one such visit, they warned him in particular about the danger of lyssavirus. BEST scientist Mike Letnic explains that this virus only impacts a small fraction of the entire Pilbara bat population, less than 1%. If humans get it, the effects can be catastrophic.
“We do have Australian bat lyssavirus, and that is very, very similar to rabies and it has a very, very high mortality rate if humans get it,” – Bill Bateman
In response to this revelation, Heseltine sounded the alarm of just how serious things had become. She stated, “I didn’t think anything of it — I mean, I’ve worked around animals my whole life and just thought ‘oh well, it’s fine, Australia’s pretty disease free.’”
As part of her treatment, Heseltine will have to go back to the hospital for follow-up injections three additional times. She characterized her hospital experience as “really terrible.” This illustrates the sense of violation she experienced during what should have been a simple medical procedure.
Expert Advice on Bat Encounters
Dr. Bill Bateman, a wildlife biologist and a leading expert on bats, reiterated that bats are not aggressive animals. Often, bats will bite if they are or feel threatened or if they are incorrectly handled, Dawg said. He urged residents to avoid direct contact with bats, and not to handle them but to allow them to leave their homes naturally.
“If the bat is flying around, the best thing to do really is just to open the window and the bat should find its way out,” – Bill Bateman
Bateman explained that lyssavirus doesn’t automatically cause bats to become aggressive. Yet, when a small animal like a bat is threatened by a human, the bat’s instinctual fight or flight response is to bite.
“Fortunately, only a tiny percentage of bats have been shown to have [lyssavirus], but of course it’s just not worth taking the risk if you get in any way scratched by a bat,” – Bill Bateman
Public Safety Warning
Following a spate of recent bat bite injuries in Western Australia’s north, health authorities are advising locals to be more vigilant. The Department of Health recommends that if a bat has bitten or scratched you, you should get medical care right away. Don’t risk the worst—seek treatment immediately!
“Any person bitten, scratched, or exposed to a bat, anywhere in the world (including in Australia), should seek medical attention as soon as possible to care for the wound and to assess whether they are at risk of infection,” – Department of Health
Residents should keep in mind that bats may occasionally end up inside a home unintentionally. This is because the safest decision—as with most wildlife—is to just leave them be.
