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ANIMALS CAN PASS THE VIRUS TO HUMANS AND IT CAN BE FATAL A person in western France has been treated for rabies after being bitten by a bat.. The bat was found on a street in the

Suzanne-et-Chammes commune, in Mayenne, Pays de la Loire, where it bit a person attempting to handle it. The mayor of the commune said “there was not a colony” in the area the bat belonged

to.  “The species does not correspond to either of the two colonies present in the Coëvrons [a nearby forested area],” added mayor Michel Galvane.  The Mayenne prefecture posted a warning

about contracting the virus on its social media pages, which can be viewed below.  > #GareÀLaRage 🐶🐱 | Soyons vigilants en #Mayenne. > Si la rage n'est plus endémique en France 

🇫🇷, des cas de rage > isolés sont régulièrement détectés, liés à des introductions > d’animaux de compagnie en provenance de pays où la maladie > circule encore. > ⚠️ Une fois 

les symptômes… pic.twitter.com/aPBHK20phf > — Préfète de la Mayenne (@Prefet53) August 1, 2024 ‘BAT’ RABIES NOT ERADICATED IN FRANCE  The type of rabies passed on by the bat is known as

chiropteran rabies (rage des chiroptères), and is different from ‘vulpine’ rabies, which mostly affects foxes.  The latter was eradicated in France with the last reported case being 1998

according to ANSES, the French Health Agency, but the former still exists, and around three bats per year are found to be infected with the virus.  Rabies is passed through via the saliva of

an animal, usually through a bite or scratch that breaks human skin.  It is rare for bats to pass rabies to humans however, with only three recorded cases of this in France since the 1980s

although in 2019 a person in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region died of rabies, which may have been passed on by a bat.  It was the first time a person had died from the disease which had been

contracted in France since 1924, according to the Pasteur Institute.  “Rare cases of transmission have also been described in other mammals, such as domestic cats, notably in France by the

national rabies reference centre,” the institute says.  “Rabies can be effectively prevented by vaccination, but is always fatal once the first signs of the disease appear,” it added. Around

59,000 people worldwide die from rabies, mostly in Africa and Asia.  Read more: Dogs die of rare disease in south-west France: vaccination advised TIPS TO AVOID RABIES  Although rare it is

still best to follow certain guidelines to avoid contracting the virus.  The first and most important thing is to never interact with an animal you think may be infected.  Contact a local

vet, or SPA (Société protectrice des animaux) to inform them of the situation, so they can send a specialist.  This is doubly the case for bats which are also protected species in France. 

If you think you have been scratched or bitten by an infected animal, immediately seek medical assistance from a doctor or local rabies centre. They will be able to run tests to see if you

need anti-rabies medicine. Rabies is fatal, but treatable if caught early enough. The medicine needs to be taken before symptoms appear.  Read more: State pays €95,000 to couple after

hundreds of bats invade French home