--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jst...@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, ruthsimplicity <no_reply@> wrote: > <snip> > > > > Increasingly rabies is transmitted by bats and most > > > > people who get rabies in the US got it from a bat bite > > > > that most didn't even notice. > > > > > > Right. It's a really terrible problem in the U.S. > > > From 1980 to 2000, there were *31 human cases* of > > > rabies, more than 1.5 per year. Of those, 22 were > > > caused by bats. > > > > OK, it looks like there is a need for a serious response. > > Between 20,000 and 40,000 people a year in the US get the > > rabies vaccination course of treatment, most due to bat > > contact. > > And therefore don't get rabies, right? > > > Fortunately, deaths by rabies remain low. I did not > > say that there was a "terrible problem" so the > > sarcastic touch isn't necessary. > > Most of 20,000 to 40,000 cases of postexposure > treatment sounds like a pretty nasty problem to me. > The point is, of course, that cases in which > exposure goes unnoticed and the person develops > rabies from a bat are very rare in this country. > > > I also do not advocate a hysterical approach to the issue. > > However, the problem is that if you get rabies you are > > almost certain to die if you don't get treated promptly. > > Just be aware of the possibility of a bat bit or scratch > > that you might not know about if you were sleeping in a > >room with a bat and you cannot capture the bat for testing. > > > > > If we lose both bees *and* bats, we'll be in a > > > pretty pickle. > > > > Bats and bees are absolutely important to the ecosystem. > > Nevertheless you rarely know which bats carry rabies, > > hence the CDC message. > > And a fine message it is. We don't want even one person > per year to die from an untreated case of rabies from a > bat. > > But my point was, and remains, that we need to learn to > love bats and do what we can to protect them. In this > instance, for a change, Vaj proves an excellent example. >
If your point is what you say it is (we need bats) there would be no need for the sarcasm directed to me ("Right. It's really a terrible problem. . .") and to Vaj ("for a change. . ."). Your point gets lost when it is coated with poison. You get more bees with honey. And my point was to provide some rabies treatment information after you noted so few people die of rabies.