Epidemiology of rabies in bats in Texas (2001–2010)

Abstract

Information on the epidemiology of rabies in bats and the epidemiology of exposures to rabid bats may be useful in planning and implementing local, state, and national rabies control and prevention campaigns and in encouraging rabies vaccination of domestic animals.

Rabies Surveillance Among Bats in Tennessee, Usa, 1996–2010

“…Nonbite exposures accounted for the majority (48%) of submissions, with unspecified exposures and bite exposures accounting for fewer submissions (31% and 21%, respectively). Nonbite exposures were also responsible for the majority of submissions annually and by month, similar to studies of bat rabies in Colorado and Texas (Pape et al 1999;Mayes et al 2013). The risk of contact with rabid bats was highest for bite exposures and is similar to results obtained from a Colorado study (Pape et al 1999), yet the risk of contact with rabid bats was also high in this study among cases where exposure was reported but unspecified (Table 3).…”

“…While some areas of the US have dramatically higher submission rates of bats per human population (Patyk et al 2012), it is unclear whether this reflects a real geographic difference in the incidence of exposure to bats. Regardless, data generated from passive surveillance are highly sensitive to human presence and behavior, as supported by associations between the population size of a county and the number of submissions and rabid bats detected in this study and by results from a Texas study reporting higher submissions and numbers of rabid bats from urban compared with rural localities (Mayes et al 2013). Despite this observation, the two bat-associated human rabies cases in Tennessee did not occur in counties with the highest number of submissions or rabid bats (Fig.…”

“…3). Similar spikes in bat submissions followed a human case in Texas during 2006, further supporting the impact of increased media attention and educational awareness on public submissions of bats (Mayes et al 2013). The greatest proportion of rabid bats was detected during 2002, although it is unclear whether this trend has any relationship to the occurrence of the human case that same year.…”

“…In the eastern US, the majority of human RABV infections are associated with the tricolored bat variant (Messenger et al 2002). Bat RABVs do not appear to be a significant source of domestic animal or wildlife infections in the US (McQuiston et al 2001;Mayes et al 2013). However, bat RABVs share a common ancestor with at least three RABV lineages maintained in carnivores (i.e., Mexican skunk, south central skunk, and raccoon variants), and spillover of bat RABV led to independent epizootics in striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in Flagstaff, Arizona (Leslie et al 2006;Kuzmin et al 2012).…”

“…Some peridomestic bat species are submitted annually in high numbers for passive surveillance yet have low proportions of rabid specimens (e.g., little brown bats, Myotis lucifugus and big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus), whereas forest-dwelling bats are submitted in much lower numbers but have markedly higher proportions of rabid specimens (e.g., hoary bats, Lasiurus cinereus and silver-haired bats) (Klug et al 2011). Furthermore, the species composition of bat submissions varies by state and region (Childs et al 1994;Pape et al 1999;Parker et al 1999;Mayes et al 2013) and may reflect the natural geographic range and abundance of certain bat species across the US, although the criteria for submission of bats for laboratory diagnosis varies among states and could influence apparent geographic trends (Patyk et al 2012).…”