this is probally going to sound as if we are over reating on this.. but i honestly don't want to take any chances!
last night my ex husband's wife called me to tell me that they have had a very bad bat problem at thier house. every night 2-4 bats are in the house and come in through my two son's (he refuses to take the oldest) rooms before going into the rest of the house. monday night she said she was woke up in the middle of the night by her cat licking her face and hands, she thought nothing of it until after she got her one yr old son up and was getting dressed that she noticed the cat had killed a bat and it was sitting on her pillow and when she was being licked believes that is when the cat brought it in to show off the trophy. she took the bat to a clinic to have it tested to make sure it didn't have rabbies. they said the bat was too chewed up and since the cat licked her after chewing it and then she had direct contact with her son they both had to have rabbies shot before they could leave. they told her that her husband has to have the shots also to be safe and called him and told him the same and he refuses. they told her that it can be spread with direct contact of anything that was touched by something that has rabbies. it does not have to be a bite.
but my worries are.. if the dad was also licked by the cat he could have it. also if it can be spread by just touching something after having eaten the bat, could it be on the carpet or the couch things like that and spread that way? i'm more worried since the dad is refusing to get the shots, if he just hugs or kisses the kids can he spread it to them and then i have to take my kids in for the shots? the hospitial told her that it is possible to spread it to my kids that way.. if he has it. but they only to tell if he does have it since the bat was too chewed up is if he comes down with the symptoms and by then its too late for him. i don't know if he can spread it while he has no symptoms or does he have to have them? to me its nothing to really mess around with if the hospitial was worried enough to make the step mom and brother have the shot before they could leave then there is some risk about it. who could i call to get the answers to all of these questions? she said the hospitial and the vet couldn't give her clear answers to how high the risks are other than bats are knowen for having rabbies and its better to be safe than sorry. plus if i do find out that they can get it from their dad this way and he wont get the shots today before the kids come out who do i call to make sure the kids can't be around him until he does get them?
the boys are to go to his house tonight for the first time since this has happened so we know now that they are in no danger of being in contact with this right now, but they will be there until sunday night and i don't want to put them right into the middle of this mess if it can be all avoided and don't know how high the risks are to them. plus i do not want to make my kids get a series of 6 painfull shots if they don't have to!
in case your wondering the stepmom and i agreed the kids will either sleep here or at his mothers house on his nights. he doesn't agree with her on this one. he will not call and talk to me about this, he told her it was none of my business.. she called to fill me in while he was sleeping last night. but i would like to get as much info on this before confronting him about the safety of the kids and where i can stand and what i can and cannot do about them staying in the house. i just don't know where to start to get my questions answered other than you wonderful mom's!
thank you all who responded. i did call the child services and they said there is nothing they could do because the children had not yet been near thier father and it was not proven if he had rabies and they had not been in the house since the bats started coming into the house. so it was "potental" medical neglect and there is nothing they can do for "potental". they told me to call the center for disease control then a lawyer. so i called CDC and got all the facts then a lawyer. the lawyer told me not to give the children to him and take my chance on getting contept charge brought. if we get into court then tell the judge my side and chances are he would end up getting neglect charges on him and child endangerment and possibly loosing his rights until he got the shots. then i called the wife and she relayed my plans and all the info i had to my ex and he went in and got the shots at 2pm yesterday and they have someone coming out today to seal the house and remove the bats. thank you again ladies!! you are wonderful!
I would be worried about the bat poop as well. You can get a disease from that. It's nothing to mess with. They need to get those things out of their house.
I'm sure a lawyer would be able to stop sleep overs at his house and force him to comply with the shots.
Sounds like he's a bit of a control freak. At least his current wife has brains enough to let you know what's going on.
Good Luck!
First of all, the animal has to have Rabies in order to pass it on so no one may be in threat of contracting rabies. There are vaccinations for this and I believe that it's a similar treatment to Lymes disease where the physician will be able to start treatment, prior to confirming that the disease is present as a "just in case" measure. I'd call a nurseline and find out if your next step is to to to the Doctor and get the entire familiy treated.
Get your children started on the rabies shots right away. This is a series of 5 shots. IF your pediatrician doesn't give them then your local hospital should. This is not something that if you ignore it it will go away. Once the symptoms of rabies set in it is pretty much too late to fix it.
The shots are given in the arm just like immunization shots. They are spaced out over a certain number of days. Your hopsital will give the fist one immediately and will then give you a schedule for the rest of the shots. They will probably even call you to remind you when you need to come in again.
Yes it does hurt to get a shot though they used to be given as a series of 25 shots in the stomach with a very large needle (much worse). Just give your kids a dose of ibuprofen (motrin) after they go to ease the discomfort.If you are unsure if your children have been exposed, then assume that they have been and take them for treatment.
Your ex needs to see a doctor that can explain the consequences of not treating suspected cases of rabies. Until then I wouldn't let your children visit him and definitely do not let them stay at his house until the bats are removed. I am sure that Child Protective Services would agree and enforce the non visitation until the situation is resolved. Call your local Child Protective Services agency (should be listed in the government pages)and report the situatin to them. Do not let his selfishness and fears hurt your children.
Here is a link to Mayo Clinic's information about rabies, from symptoms, effects and preventative treatment
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rabies/DS00484
Rabies is trasmitted thru saliva only. However, it doesn't have to be from an acutal bite. If the saliva gets in contact with a cut, scratch, eyes, mouth, etc; it can cause infection. I would call your local health department and/or your pediatrician. The health department usually has guidelines to follow for vaccinations depending on where you live, the type of exposure and the species of animal. Your doctor may also have that guideline.
Wow! Very scary stuff!! I would absolutely call an lawyer and make sure the kids didn't go with him until either he receives the shots or past any incubation period (not sure how long that is) and the bats are out of the house. Like another response stated I think I would also call the health dept.
Good luck!
WOW thank goodness the ex wife called you or you'd never know.
I wouldn't let my child go to their home at all until they have properly secured the home from getting more bats from coming in and Dad has had shots or is clear of rabbies. Potentially your dealing with a life or death situation. If your boys did come in contact would your ex even let you know?
Make up an excuse why they cant' go to their dad's this week or be straight out with him about it. Call a lawyer and get some legal advise.
R.,
My brother and his wife had a bat in their house early this summer. My 2 year old nephew woke up screaming, and thats when the found the bat.
They called the pediatrician just to talk about it and he recommended that they ALL get rabies shots (which they have done - no fun!) The recommendation is if you wake and have a bat in your room that you should assume you were bitten and do preventative shots. Apparently bat bites are very hard to see because they are small, and you wouldn't be able to tell if you had been bitten.
My brother lives in Hubbard County (northern MN) and a man died of rabies there last year because he didn't realize he had been bitten.
I'm sure that is not what you wanted to hear, but I think better safe than sorry. I would say the Dad should have to have the shots, and I'm surprised that they haven't had a public health official involved. Can you contact public health in his area? If they have small children of their own, it is a risk to them if bats are coming in.
J.
