Hey Joe, Not bugging me, in actuality some of these threads ultimately just make me better at discussing with the public (clients, etc...) because I've just brushed up on the latest and greatest in literature on various subjects or contacted some folks who should be the authority on the subject.
In terms of your question which is very logical about why would 10,000 times of handling to band bats over the year prior to the rabies virus in those two gentleman, the answer would lie
in the published periods by WHO (World Health Organization) and CDC (Centers For Disease Control), which both suggest that the virus in humans can show itself anywhere from days after a bite (exposure) up to a year after the event.
Since most people die of rabies in countries like Africa where dog rabies is still prevalent (something that used to be our issue here before vaccination programs) there aren't really that many cases here in the states that they can use as reference cases from known exposure to known death.
If you look at the published literature of X number of deaths per year here in the states over the last several decades it points to folks who often didn't think contact with either a bat or other mammalian vector species (raccoon, skunk, fox) was a cause for concern or the need for shots. This might surprise some of us, but I bet it doesn't as I know too many folks who have been bitten and never thought twice about not ringing up the doc for any shots or treatment.
CDC displays the incubation period after an exposure "may vary from a few days to several years, but is typically 1 to 3 months.
What we of course including myself would be thinking is mostly related to when we are exposed to when we make the call for the shots we know should be very expeditious.
This is based in the fact that outside of those few cases of folks known to have "survived" through due to various treatment methods, once you show clinical signs the disease is considered fatal and therefore the shots no longer do you any good (not that docs won't still try to save you through one of a couple protocols).
Tracking back to the two guys back in the 1953 time, most people didn't know what they know now.
In looking for some info to share here I saw a scientific survey of cavers and this was only in 2000 approximately that shared that more than 26% of those surveyed didn't even believe a bite from a bat was something that required any treatment.
I was surprised by this, but then I'm a wildlife biologist, I grew up hunting, fishing, trapping and hearing about things like rabies, distemper, etc... from birth. Many folks venture into wild situations with wildlife who have no clue about the realities.
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My wife and I both have grown a great fondness for bats and bat conservation, however I never ever joke with the public about rabies, if they had a situation that is considered an exposure by my DOH, then I instruct to contact those folks to have the bat tested and to proceed with their medical treatment.
We spend lots of our time and money providing talks to kids to adults and a big part of that outreach is telling them DO NOT TOUCH WILDLIFE and if you have to ALWAYS USE A BARRIER.
Okay Wink, I'm pretty well done with this topic, though I do think everyone in our industry should understand more about every disease and parasite, etc... that we work with or that might impact a client. The more we know, the better we are at telling people a balanced truth about things and not providing them more fear for situations that don't merit it.
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I'd encourage everyone interested in rabies, pre exposure, post exposure, and pathology of the virus to read the CDC pages. These people are our highest level of knowledge and employ doctors who have a sole purpose in each of these various virus, bacteria, etc... I tell clients who want more info the same, rely on good solid information from a trusted source.
If you are so inclined and want your own texts, look on amazon for two texts for mammals, one is the infectious diseases of north american mammals and the other is the parasitic version of the same. Both have a wealth of things most of us will never see happen in them, but they are excellent in your hand books.
Also, my apologies, not for being passionate about the issue, but if I offended anyone, I just sometimes struggle greatly with some of these topics, I hope that the rest of the thread shows that I'm all about learning from and sharing within my industry and among my colleagues on here and elsewhere.
Best,
Justin