The public health hazard of bat rabies

The European bat lyssaviruses (EBLVs) are not easily transmitted from bats to other species, but such incidents have occurred rarely. In humans EBLV infection can be fatal, and to date, worldwide, four such cases have been reported (1). The most recent was in November 2002, when a 56 year old bat worker in Scotland died of an EBLV2 infection, about six months after he had been bitten by a Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) (2). Other cases were a 15 year old girl in Ukraine in 1977, who died five weeks after she had been bitten on her finger by a bat. In Russia in 1985 an 11 year old girl died four weeks after a bat bite on her lower lip. Both girls were infected with EBLV1. In the same year as the Russian case, a 30 year old bat researcher in Finland died of rabies caused by EBLV2 (3). In both this case and the Scottish case, it has not been definitely determined when the fatal bites took place.