Bat Attack

For topics unrelated to bush walking or to the forums.

Bat Attack

Postby Overlandman » Fri 05 Jun, 2015 8:09 pm

If she gets bitten from something big & black in Tasmania, it will be a Tiger Snake or Tasmanian Devil.

Wonder if she used the Bat phone

From ABC

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-05/n ... ia/6522056

A woman attacked by a bat in the Northern Territory and diagnosed with post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) has been forced to move to Tasmania.

Debbie Riley was attacked in August last year while living and working at a camp on the Roper River, 600 kilometres south east of Darwin.

Ms Riley told 105.7 ABC Darwin she had finished work for the day and was sitting outside her accommodation about 7:30pm when attacked.

"I heard a noise on the roof. I [then] looked forward and saw this big black thing coming at me through the sky," she said.

"It was silent, it just came at me [and] it latched onto my leg ... I thought it was a bird."

It peed all over me and I started screaming. I grabbed hold of its wing and threw it.
Debbie Riley

Ms Riley tried to stand up but the animal had taken hold.

She said she looked down and saw "two eyes looking at me and it was a bat... a massive bat".

"It peed all over me and I started screaming. I grabbed hold of its wing and threw it."

Once free of the winged aggressor, Ms Riley took stock of the situation.

Her injuries, mainly scratching and a bite on her finger "weren't bad", she said.

"I was more in shock."

Ms Riley said only week earlier she had read of a Queensland boy who contracted the deadly Australian lyssavirus (ABLV) and died weeks after coming into contact with a bat in 2013.

"I had read that article and I knew I had to do something about it," she said.

Unsure about what to do, she 'called the bat line'

Ms Riley went for help to the camp caretaker, who took to the internet for information about what to do next, which included what Ms Riley called "calling the bat line".

Ms Riley received medical attention and a vaccine the next day at Katherine Hospital, but said even after treatment the thought of ABLV played on her mind.

"Even after the injections I was worried. I knew I still had it in my head," she said.

After the attack, Ms Riley said her confidence crumbled and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In an effort to free herself of her fear, Ms Riley relocated to Tasmania, but the incident still haunts her.

"I am getting there, it still have nightmares about it," she said.

"I hate going out at night. I can't touch nylon, because it reminds me of the wing.

"I pushed all my friends away, I couldn't go out. I am hoping to go back to work soon. I've had counselling, I am on medication"

I hate going out at night. I can't touch nylon, because it reminds me of the wing.
Debbie Riley

Despite her ordeal, Ms Riley said she bore no ill feelings toward the bat.

"They're an animal and I love animals... we just got in each other's way," she said.

There are eight bats species listed as occurring in Tasmania.

Fortunately for Ms Riley, Tasmanian bats are described as "shy, nocturnal and not aggressive".
Seek treatment if bitten or scratched

Dr Damian Milne, a micro bat expert with the Northern Territory Government, said anyone scratched or bitten by a bat should immediately wash the wound.

"The first step is soap and water," Dr Milne said.

While the lyssavirus poses a fatal risk, Dr Milne said people should not worry about being attacked by bats.

"It's not something I'd lay awake at night about," he said.

He described attacks like that which happened to Ms Riley as "an extremely uncommon occurrence".

However Dr Milne, who specialises in the small micro bat species, said he had been bitten during the course of his work.

"I've been inoculated with the rabies vaccine, which is the current inoculation with the lyssavirus," he said.

He said he could not definitively say how many bats carried the lyssavirus but thought the percentage would be "very low".

Despite Dr Milne's assurances, the official NT Government line is that "any flying fox or bat in the NT should be treated as a potential carrier of the disease and close contact avoided".

The Government warns:

"ABLV is similar to rabies and affects the nervous system causing fatal encephalitis [inflammation of the brain]. There has been no transmission of the virus to humans in the NT. However, there have been three cases of human ABLV infection in Australia, all in Queensland, and all died as a result of ABLV infection after being bitten by bats.

"The virus is usually transmitted from bats to people through bites or scratches, or by being exposed to bat saliva through the eyes, nose or mouth.

"Contact or exposure to bat fur, faeces, urine or blood does not pose a risk of exposure to ABLV, nor does living, playing or walking near bat roosting areas.

"However any direct contact with bats increases the risk of potential injury and should be avoided."

Dr Vicki Krause, Director Centre for Disease Control, said if people found an injured bat, "the safe option is to call people who are experts in the field of animal rescue to attend to an injured bat".

"If you find a sick or injured bat, or if your pet catches a bat, do not attempt to rescue or dispose of it," Ms Krause said.

"Contact Wildcare NT on 8988 6121 for assistance."
Whatever, Wherever, Whenever
Overlandman
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1566
Joined: Sun 13 Nov, 2011 5:22 pm
Location: Tasmania
Region: Tasmania
Gender: Male

Re: Bat Attack

Postby Strider » Fri 05 Jun, 2015 8:11 pm

Gotta watch out for those big black snakes!
User avatar
Strider
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 6030
Joined: Mon 07 Nov, 2011 6:55 pm
Location: Point Cook
Region: Victoria
Gender: Male

Re: Bat Attack

Postby vicrev » Fri 05 Jun, 2015 8:37 pm

Who ya gonna call !!!! :shock: ....BATBUSTERS!!!!.. :D
vicrev
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 502
Joined: Mon 18 Feb, 2013 4:27 pm
Region: Victoria
Gender: Male

Re: Bat Attack

Postby Avatar » Sat 06 Jun, 2015 3:34 am

Poor lady. Seems like abnormal behaviour from the bat and she is right to question if the bat is hosting a pathogen that changes the bat's behaviour in such a way as to induce it to become a vector of transmission. I'd seek immediate treatment as well. Hope she gets over the horror of the attack. Makes you wonder at the extent of the pathogen reservoir in bat populations.
I see plenty of large bats at night here in Melbourne, many migrated from up north. They fly silently and can loom quite quickly. They are BIG. Some have come within a few metres. Sometimes the chattering squeaking calls seem to follow me as I make my way on a run or walk. They can pick if a house is uninhabited and move in to the garden if it has big trees. Where I am there are a lot of Tawny Frogmouths that I see at night as well - also silent fliers.
User avatar
Avatar
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides
 
Posts: 279
Joined: Sun 07 Jul, 2013 5:21 pm
Location: NE Melbourne
Region: Victoria

Re: Bat Attack

Postby Suz » Mon 08 Jun, 2015 9:09 am

I wonder why on earth it bit her! So weird. Maybe her leg smelled like figs!

She doesn't sound like someone who copes terribly well with life. PTSD from that?

But yes, anyone who gets bitten or scratched should get the series of post-exposure shots, starting within 24 hours of the bite / scratch.

It is unknown what % of the pop. carries the disease Avatar, but it's estimated it at 0.7% overall Australian bat species.
Suz
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides
 
Posts: 440
Joined: Fri 03 Apr, 2015 7:58 am
Region: Western Australia
Gender: Female

Re: Bat Attack

Postby Zone-5 » Sat 27 Jun, 2015 2:49 am

... moved to another forum @ 10/10/2015
User avatar
Zone-5
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
 
Posts: 760
Joined: Sat 04 Jan, 2014 5:45 pm
Region: Australia


Return to Between Bushwalks

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 32 guests