Bats in the News
_
_
Bats drive residents from Lawrenceville home
7:40 AM, Jan 16, 2014
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- At first glance, it looks like a normal house on a nice street.
But taped on the door is a sign from the Gwinnett County Health Department, labeling the home an imminent health hazard.
It's because the house is full of bats, dozens of them, that likely won't be leaving anytime soon.
For six months, the house on Hidden Valley Drive was Joel Johnson's home. He rented the property, living there with his fiancee and two young boys until one day, several days before Thanksgiving, he noticed a bat flying in the upstairs hallway. He immediately tried to capture it and send it outside.
"When I went into the room where I thought it went, I noticed that there were more bats than one," Johnson told 11Alive's Blayne Alexander.
Gwinnett County Animal Control came and removed the bats, but Johnson knew the ordeal was not over; he still heard the scratching noises.
"I could hear them in the garage, in the bedroom above where we slept," he remembered.
"Further looking outside, they were coming in the chimney, they were coming both ends of the house. They were even coming under the house."
It was so bad that when Johnson called animal control again in late December, animal control called the health department, whose workers took videos and pictures of the bats. The home was declared a health hazard, unfit for occupation or entry until the bats are out of the living area.
Joseph Sternberg, Environmental Health Director with the Gwinnett County Health Department, was at the house that night. He told 11Alive's Alexander they found a "large infestation" of bats inside the house, bringing a "significant potential" for exposure to rabies.
The department recommended the family undergo rabies shots as a precaution, which they have done.
11Alive News found the man who owns the house; Martin Del Mazo, a Fulton County attorney, insists his hands are tied.
"The problem is the bats won't leave," he said. "We're not allowed to physically pick up the bats and move them out of the house."
Because many bats are listed as endangered species, it is illegal to use pesticides against them. Del Mazo said he hired a company back in November to install so-called check valves, bags that would let bats out, but not back in. But because it is wintertime, the bats are in hibernation and not expected to leave on their own until at least March.
"The house is empty and will stay that way until such a time as the bats decide to leave," Del Mazo said. "And that's frustrating."
The family now lives in a nearby hotel. Johnson said many of their belongings are still inside the house. He goes back during the daytime, accompanied by a health department worker, to retrieve what he can, but he says some items, like his dryer full of bats, will have to stay behind permanently.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/319131/40/Bats-drive-residents-from-Lawrenceville-home
By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff
12/30/2011 12:18 PM
A Barnstable County man is hospitalized and in critical condition after contracting rabies, likely after being exposed to a bat in his home, state public health officials announced this morning.
This is the first case since 1935 of rabies contracted by a human in Massachusetts. It is the sixth such case this year in the United States. Rabies is a highly fatal disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach said there is no evidence that there are more rabid animals in the state than in recent years.
“This is not a reason for people to panic,” he said. “There is no elevated risk here.”
While rabies infects tens of thousands of people around the world each year, it had been successfully controlled in the United States since the 1930s by vaccinating domestic animals and through the use of medications given to people who have been bitten or scratched by animals thought to be infected, said Dr. Lawrence Madoff, director of the Division of Epidemiology and Immunization. Hundreds of people in the state receive the post-exposure drugs each year before developing any symptoms, he said. Most who do develop symptoms die from the disease.
State officials gave few details about the Massachusetts man, said to be over age 60, or how he is being treated. They have not confirmed how he contracted the disease but said there were bats in the man’s home. Because of the small size of a bat’s teeth, it is possible for people who are sleeping or incapacitated in some way to be bitten by a bat without knowing it, said Catherine Brown, public health veterinarian.
The man likely was exposed to a rabid animal about six weeks ago, Brown said. His infection was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday, the officials said. Further tests should determine exactly how he contracted it.
Auerbach said people should not be concerned if they see bats outside of their home or know that they are in the attic. But, they should remove any bats that enter into their living space.
Chelsea Conaboy can be reached at cconaboy@boston.com.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/whitecoatnotes/2011/12/barnstable-county-man-hospitalized-and-critical-condition-after-contracting-rabies/Qnwh0xSCiwAE6lxwLuSrZK/index.html
7:40 AM, Jan 16, 2014
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- At first glance, it looks like a normal house on a nice street.
But taped on the door is a sign from the Gwinnett County Health Department, labeling the home an imminent health hazard.
It's because the house is full of bats, dozens of them, that likely won't be leaving anytime soon.
For six months, the house on Hidden Valley Drive was Joel Johnson's home. He rented the property, living there with his fiancee and two young boys until one day, several days before Thanksgiving, he noticed a bat flying in the upstairs hallway. He immediately tried to capture it and send it outside.
"When I went into the room where I thought it went, I noticed that there were more bats than one," Johnson told 11Alive's Blayne Alexander.
Gwinnett County Animal Control came and removed the bats, but Johnson knew the ordeal was not over; he still heard the scratching noises.
"I could hear them in the garage, in the bedroom above where we slept," he remembered.
"Further looking outside, they were coming in the chimney, they were coming both ends of the house. They were even coming under the house."
It was so bad that when Johnson called animal control again in late December, animal control called the health department, whose workers took videos and pictures of the bats. The home was declared a health hazard, unfit for occupation or entry until the bats are out of the living area.
Joseph Sternberg, Environmental Health Director with the Gwinnett County Health Department, was at the house that night. He told 11Alive's Alexander they found a "large infestation" of bats inside the house, bringing a "significant potential" for exposure to rabies.
The department recommended the family undergo rabies shots as a precaution, which they have done.
11Alive News found the man who owns the house; Martin Del Mazo, a Fulton County attorney, insists his hands are tied.
"The problem is the bats won't leave," he said. "We're not allowed to physically pick up the bats and move them out of the house."
Because many bats are listed as endangered species, it is illegal to use pesticides against them. Del Mazo said he hired a company back in November to install so-called check valves, bags that would let bats out, but not back in. But because it is wintertime, the bats are in hibernation and not expected to leave on their own until at least March.
"The house is empty and will stay that way until such a time as the bats decide to leave," Del Mazo said. "And that's frustrating."
The family now lives in a nearby hotel. Johnson said many of their belongings are still inside the house. He goes back during the daytime, accompanied by a health department worker, to retrieve what he can, but he says some items, like his dryer full of bats, will have to stay behind permanently.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/319131/40/Bats-drive-residents-from-Lawrenceville-home
By Chelsea Conaboy, Globe Staff
12/30/2011 12:18 PM
A Barnstable County man is hospitalized and in critical condition after contracting rabies, likely after being exposed to a bat in his home, state public health officials announced this morning.
This is the first case since 1935 of rabies contracted by a human in Massachusetts. It is the sixth such case this year in the United States. Rabies is a highly fatal disease that attacks the central nervous system.
Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach said there is no evidence that there are more rabid animals in the state than in recent years.
“This is not a reason for people to panic,” he said. “There is no elevated risk here.”
While rabies infects tens of thousands of people around the world each year, it had been successfully controlled in the United States since the 1930s by vaccinating domestic animals and through the use of medications given to people who have been bitten or scratched by animals thought to be infected, said Dr. Lawrence Madoff, director of the Division of Epidemiology and Immunization. Hundreds of people in the state receive the post-exposure drugs each year before developing any symptoms, he said. Most who do develop symptoms die from the disease.
State officials gave few details about the Massachusetts man, said to be over age 60, or how he is being treated. They have not confirmed how he contracted the disease but said there were bats in the man’s home. Because of the small size of a bat’s teeth, it is possible for people who are sleeping or incapacitated in some way to be bitten by a bat without knowing it, said Catherine Brown, public health veterinarian.
The man likely was exposed to a rabid animal about six weeks ago, Brown said. His infection was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday, the officials said. Further tests should determine exactly how he contracted it.
Auerbach said people should not be concerned if they see bats outside of their home or know that they are in the attic. But, they should remove any bats that enter into their living space.
Chelsea Conaboy can be reached at cconaboy@boston.com.
http://www.boston.com/Boston/whitecoatnotes/2011/12/barnstable-county-man-hospitalized-and-critical-condition-after-contracting-rabies/Qnwh0xSCiwAE6lxwLuSrZK/index.html