A rabid bat landed on a family’s dinner table.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
As reported in People, that’s what recently happened at the Yellow Deli in Vista, California.
What would I have done?
Probably just scoot my chair back a little. Growing up around my parents’ veterinary practice, I became oddly desensitized to wildlife. Bats. Rats. Birds. Porcupines. Squirrels. Groundhogs. Skunks.
What would YOU have done? :)
I still remember when my dad rescued a skunk that had fallen into a pit near my high school. He put it in the back of our minivan to transport him to a safe place…right next to my school uniform and loaded bookbag.
The skunk sprayed.
Let’s just say that for a very long time, my classmates always knew when I’d arrived at school.
It builds……………………………..character.
Back to the bat…
Another customer wrapped the bat in a towel and brought it to the Oceanside Humane Society. It was then sent to the county public health laboratory, where it tested positive for rabies. Health officials are now trying to identify anyone who may have had direct contact with the bat because they may need rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)—a series of vaccines (and sometimes rabies immune globulin) that can prevent the disease if started promptly.
Here’s where the story crosses into deep “WTF” territory.
The average cost of rabies PEP in the United States is estimated to be more than $3,800. Depending on where you receive treatment, your insurance coverage, and hospital pricing, the final bill can be dramatically higher.
Consider these real-life examples:
*Florida: Wildlife biologist Jeannette Parker received a hospital bill totaling nearly $48,500 after being bitten by a stray cat. More than $46,000 of the charges were for rabies immune globulin alone. Even after insurance, she still owed more than $4,000.
*Massachusetts: A woman sought rabies treatment after a bat briefly flew into her mouth while she was taking photographs in Arizona. Although she wasn’t aware of being bitten, her physician father urged her to get treated because bat bites can be incredibly small and sometimes go unnoticed. Unfortunately, a waiting period in her newly purchased insurance policy left her responsible for more than $20,000 in medical bills.
*California: After finding a bat in their home, a couple received rabies post-exposure treatment and were shocked to receive an initial emergency room bill of more than $206,000. Following media scrutiny, the hospital substantially reduced the charges. A rabies expert interviewed for the story expressed concern that bills like these could discourage people from seeking lifesaving treatment after legitimate exposures.
My parents have their own rabies story.
Years ago, they rescued two kittens that unfortunately developed rabies. (A reminder that rabies doesn’t always come wrapped in scary-looking animals. Sometimes it comes in very adorable kittens.) A popular misconception is that rabies is always “ferocious.” It’s not.
Fortunately, because the exposure occurred through their veterinary practice, their rabies treatment was covered by workers’ compensation.
Rabies is one of the deadliest infectious diseases we know of once symptoms begin. The good news is that it’s also one of the most preventable, IF treatment starts in time.
A rabid bat is scary.
A rabies bill shouldn’t be scarier.
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Other blogs to check out:
It’s not Ketchup! It’s a Rabies Vaccine
Do animals self-medicate? The fascinating world of animal doctors!
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