Warning over deadly virus after bat bites Pilbara woman
A Pilbara resident says she did not realise how serious a bat bite could be until she experienced it herself. A very small number of bats carry the deadly lyssavirus which is communicable to humans. The unlucky woman is undergoing a painful course of preventive treatment.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-20/pilbara-bat-bite-lyssavirus-treatment/105903464Open linkView original on slrpnk.net
16 replies
We all know that we don't have rabies in Australia, but Australian bat lyssavirus is rabies(almost), the symptoms, transmission, treatment and prevention are all identical to rabies.
On top of this bats carry Hendra, Murray valley encephalitis, coronavirus and god knows what else.
Just stay away from bats everyone, especially in northern Aus.
Yeah, I got bit by a bat in Darwin so I got all the treatments and rabies immunity for a few years.
Unfortunately that's expired now
Yeah, that’s not very typical. I’d like to make that point.
Well, how was it un-typical?
Take a glance at the honorable Senator's comment history. That comment word for word shows up fairly often... Maybe they can explain why @SenatorCollins
It's a reference to this comedy sketch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5qxZm_JqM
And dockedatthewrongworf was playing along with the next line in the sketch.
Oh I know! It's the first line from the Clarke and Dawe skit "The Front Fell Off".
I was just saying the next line!
Well, there are a lot of these flying mammals going around the world all the time, and very seldom does anything like this happen. I just don’t want people thinking that bats aren’t safe.
Treating bat bites as serious in areas with lyssavirus, which is incurable once it starts showing symptoms, is very typical. Transmission to humans is uncommon but ruling it out is literally deadly serious.
Incurable once you're symptomatic, and, to be totally clear for anyone not aware, invariably fatal. It's a horrible death, too. Also, the incubation period can be anywhere from a few weeks to two years.
The ABC article could have benefited from making that clearer. It calls the virus 'deadly', but doesn't impress upon the reader just how deadly.
Well, I was thinking more about the other ones.
Chance in a million
Well, the woman was quarantined outside the environment.
You shouldn't touch any wildlife if you can avoid it, but especially not bats!
Don't mess with bats, and never fucking eat them!
And hide your pangolins!