The patient had the organ transplanted at a hospital in Ohio in December and died in January, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said.
A subsequent investigation that also involved the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Department of Health determined the patient got rabies from the donated organ. Sutfin did not specify which organ was transplanted.
I used to live in an old farmhouse. Drafty as fuck. There was a bat who kept getting inside every few months, and I’d just shoo it out or catch it and let it go outside. One night it got inside and in the course of looking for a way out, it accidentally scratched my daughter. It barely even broke her skin—there was the tiniest mark where blood welled just the slightest bit.
So when I captured him, I had to take him in for testing. Which I hated, knowing it was a death sentence, but you can’t take your chances with rabies at fucking all.
Of course, the bat wasn’t rabid, my daughter was just fine, and we probably had to suffer a few more mosquitoes that year. That was the last time we had any bats in our house.
Now, we have a very nice back yard with a deck we use a lot in the evenings and I wish I had my little bat buddy back to eat all the tasty bugs during the summer.
That was absolutely the right thing to do for your family. It sucks about your bat buddy though.
If you want to help bats, you can put up a bat house. There are plans for ones online to build one yourself. Bat are really struggling, between white nose fungus and humans their populations are really declining.
And keep a lookout for bats in need, when they get hurt they can be help. There might be a licensed bat rescue near you that could save them. I found a bat in my attic that had fallen into a bucket of water. It was winter and there was ice in with him! I was able to get him in a box and took him to a rehab the next day. He made a full recovery and was released that spring.
Love that story, thank you so much for sharing! I do want to build a bat box this year.