In Sumy, two people sought medical attention after being bitten by bats. These animals are often asymptomatic carriers of the rabies virus, reports UNN with reference to the Sumy Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Details
At the end of July this year, two people who had been bitten by bats sought help at the Sumy City Hospital. Both incidents occurred when people tried to drive the animals out of their homes. The victims were immediately prescribed anti-rabies treatment.
The regional center for disease control and prevention announced recommendations:
- the bat migration season is currently underway - they are looking for a place to hibernate. They usually do not attack people - only if they are not scared or provoked. A bite is a self-defense reaction to danger;
- if bats fly into a dwelling, you should behave calmly so as not to scare them. In such cases, you should move to another room and call 112 or the animal rescue service.
In addition, the center reminded that bats, like most warm-blooded animals, can be carriers of the virus that causes rabies. Among domestic animals, dogs and cats are carriers of this disease, and in the wild, wolves, foxes, bats, hedgehogs, etc. are carriers.
Infection can occur through a bite, scratch, and micro-damage to the skin, as well as through the entry of pathogen-infected saliva onto mucous membranes or damaged human skin. The incubation period for rabies in humans lasts from 7 days to 3 months, and under certain conditions and factors (localization and number of bites, depth of the wound, type of animal and its viral load), even a year or more
In total, in 2024, 1356 residents of Sumy region sought help at various medical institutions in the region due to animal bites.
Recall
In Lviv region, two boys lost their sight due to infection after scratches from cats.