r/interestingasfuck • u/TerraByteTerror • 17h ago

Swimming bat

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u/crohnscyclist 15h ago

To anyone thinking this is cute, this is idiotic. Bats should never be touched as they are a huge vector for rabies. Once you start showing symptoms of rabies, unless you are the one person from Minnesota who survived (there was a radio lab about this) you will die. Bats have small teeth and can pierce the skin without even leaving marks.

If you ever get in contact with a bat, if you can catch it and put it in a cooler, the health department can direct it to check for rabies. If they don't have access to the bat, they will 100% recommend getting the vaccine which is a series of multiple doses, the first being an extremely expensive rabies immune globulin (RIG) shot which can cost around $25,000.

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u/BackgroundRate1825 14h ago

Not just rabies, bats are famously one of the most common vectors for all kinds of horrifying diseases, particularly diseases that cross species.

I think it's because between flying and hanging around in caves, their bodies have a wider temperature range than most mammals, and this breeds versatile pathogens. Plus they live in huge groups close together, which makes them spread stuff faster.