WATCH: Rabid bat attacks guitarist

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Were any goths sighted nearby?

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Well, rabid or a music critic.

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That could only be more metal if, well, they were playing some metal, but still.

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Multnomah county? Well that explains everything.

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Isn’t rabies fatal nearly all the time? Kind of mean to laugh about that. Or are we under “america’s funniest” rules that it’s all fair game unless the person actually dies on camera?

Ps. Reminds me of a longish but good recent read about infections spreading between species. The bats keep showing up as important pieces of the puzzle.

Blutarsky, is that you?

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“Sorry, I thought you were that Ozzy Osbourne guy. My bad.”

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Only untreated rabies is fatal – I recall a recent case of somebody surviving untreated rabies.
Not sure what the current regimen is, but when I was a kid it was about a dozen shots in your abs over a period of time – sure made me careful around wild critters after a friend had to go through that.

Edit: current treatment still involves several injections, but there are only 4 now given in the arm.

HDCV or PCECV 1.0 mL, IM (deltoid area ), one each on days 0 , 3, 7, and 14.
CDC - Medical Care - Rabies

The old regimen was 23 daily shots deep in the abdominal muscle – I recall that they did a big circle pattern on my friend’s belly.

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I know someone who was bitten by what turned out to be a rabid bat while camping. It was shortly before Halloween, so he had a hell of time convincing people that he was serious when he sought treatment and testing of the bat…

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I know at least two people that have been bit by bats (Cabin had a colony) they got the shots and never had any trouble afterwords I believe.

Not worth screwing around if you get bit by a wild mammal. go see a doctor.

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Disappointed this is NOT turning into a viral campaign by the band about that guy’s descent into vampirism.

(Hope he got his rabies shots. Assuming he did. Glad he did. Rabies is not funny.)

But seriously… bit by bat on camera… VAMPIRES.

everyone’s a critic.

i’m hoping the audio snippet “IT’S A BAT!!” goes viral. it’s perfect.

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I hope they weren’t seen. Because whoever shat that bat could be in trouble.

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Normally I’d refer to the CDC for medical information. In this case, Wikipedia’s plain-speak version of symptoms is much more useful - so here it is. I’m posting it because it helps to explain why the bat went after the guitarist - even though that guy wasn’t doing anything directly to the bat (like chasing it).

Animals (and people) with rabies go through three stages of infection. If you stop the infection in the first stage, it’s very treatable, but symptoms can mimic a lot of other diseases - like flu, encephalitis, and West Nile - so it’s important to know about and be honest about possible exposure. @RJMeelar is absolutely right. If you get bitten, go see a doctor. Also be careful handling animals if you hunt. Transmission occurs through animal saliva (eyes,nose,mouth) to human blood, so make sure you fully cover any open wounds before field dressing.

The second stage (which is what this bat was in) is the one where animals freak out and attack. They do it because their systems are hyperreacting to outside stimuli. In the video here, a guy was (unintentionally) playing a string instrument at a rabid bat - terrible combination. He’s really lucky there was only one sick bat in the area. Any others around might also have gone for him! The second stage is less treatable, but definitely recoverable.

The third stage is paralytic, and it’s the one people die from. It shows external evidence of the damage done to your brain. As of 2011, only three people had survived third-stage rabies untreated (via vaccination, which is what the shots are) on record, and that was through the use of induced coma. Coma may allow time for the brain to “rewire” needed functions, but long-term care and recovery will still be required to return to a state similar to pre-illness condition. In other words, don’t let yourself get to stage three!!!

Here’s the CDC with the pre- and post-exposure vaccination information.
This article discusses the “Milwaulkee Protocol” - which is the amped-up induced coma designed to let your brain rest while your body heals, and mentions a possible benefit of Ketamine.

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“W-who ARE you?”

“I’m bat, man.”

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Yes 4 shots of the vaccine, but that doesn’t take into account the Human rabies immune globulin, which you also get on the first day. That is given based on body weight, so the first go around is still a decent number of shots.

Looks like even rabid bats hate hippies with guitars.

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To bad that he didn’t have someone as perceptive as Raoul Duke with him…

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