Two species of bats found in mainland France can carry the rabies virus. However, cases of infection in humans are very rare and treatment is effective.
On the night of Monday January 29 to Tuesday January 30, when she went out to get her phone charger from her car, the resident of Cotes-d’Armor had a rare encounter. In the dark, she felt something hit her cheek and brought my hand to her face.
“Hearing its very characteristic shrill cry, I realized it was a bat and I panicked. With my hands, I involuntarily blocked it in front of me and caught it,” says the 21-year-old young woman from Ouest-France.
Quickly freed from the animal, she found her cheeks bleeding, with “scratches and bite marks”. Two days later, his injury took a turn for the worse and the doctor advised him to go to the emergency room.
There, she underwent a series of tests, injections against rabies and tetanus and immunoglobulin to boost her immune defenses. Later, she was hospitalized for two days in the Infectious Diseases Department for observation.
Ultrasonic guidance
Should we be afraid of being attacked by bats, especially with the upcoming return of sunny days? As the French Society for the Study and Protection of Mammals (SFEPM) reminds us, chance contacts are rare. “Its flight is very precise and its ultrasound guidance system (echolocation) makes it possible to detect very fine objects,” she says.
“The legend stands but the bat will never get caught in your hair,” adds SFEPM.
Additionally, she clarifies that bats “can hunt up to 3,000 insects a night”. “Enough to sustainably control pest populations and provide a certain peace and quiet on your terrace on summer evenings,” writes SFEPM.
However, due to human activities and climate change, bats are increasingly at risk and their populations are declining. According to the National Biodiversity Observatory, 43% of bats in France will disappear between 2006 and 2021.
Can carry the rabies virus
If you find an injured or weak bat that has invited itself into your home, it is very important not to touch it and call an expert and, as a last resort, handle it with thick gloves. “She will only bite if we try to handle her,” explains SFEPM.
Although scratches or bites are rare, bats can carry the rabies virus, lyssavirus EBLV-1, in metropolitan France. Of the 36 known in France, only two bat species can carry it.
“The lyssavirus is transmitted to humans through the saliva of an animal suffering from rabies either during a bite, or when scratching or licking a wound, a recent skin lesion or mucous membrane”, explains ANSES, which clarifies that sometimes there can be. There is no visible wound on the skin, which means no bite or scratch.
“You should know that an infected bat is usually not aggressive, it is often depressed and weakened,” adds SFEPM.
Effective preventive treatment
The organization recommends “clean the wound thoroughly with soap, then rinse thoroughly and apply an antiseptic solution.” Then, you should contact a doctor, who can redirect you to an anti-rabies center (CAR).
In 2022, the Pasteur Institute reported that 461 patients received post-exposure prophylaxis, that is, preventive treatment after contact with bats, including 93 in Guyana and 17 abroad.
Treatment, if necessary, may combine vaccines and immunoglobulin, and will require several injections. “Its effectiveness is complete when the injection is carried out to the end,” assures ANSES.
However, cases of rabies transmitted to humans by bats are rare. In August 2019, a patient died in New Aquitaine due to a case of rabies. It was the first indigenous case in mainland France since 1924.
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