Posted on 04/13/2012 9:03:44 AM PDT by null and void
A bat swooping around the passenger cabin during a U.S. commercial airline flight last August may have been unnerving for passengers, but there is no evidence anyone was exposed to rabies, a federal health agency said on Thursday.
The bat in question flew into the cabin of a flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Atlanta the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in report.
When the bat flew into the airplane lavatory, a passenger closed the door, trapping it, CDC veterinarian Danielle Buttke told Reuters. The pilots then returned to Madison and passengers disembarked.
Maintenance crew members tried to capture the bat so it could be tested for rabies, but it flew out of the lavatory when the door was opened and then out the airplane's cabin door. It eventually left the airport terminal through automatic doors, Buttke said.
Because the bat had not been tested for rabies, the CDC interviewed 45 of the passengers and all three crew members. None had any physical contact with the bat or exposure to its saliva, the CDC said. Five passengers were never located for interviews.
"I would say there is no evidence (of rabies exposure)," Buttke said. But he added, "I don't think we can be certain."
She said that most of the passengers were "very good natured" about the incident.
"As a whole, I was very impressed with everyone's behavior and how calm they were," Buttke said, saying the flight's delay and possibly missed connections might have caused more passenger ire.
In 2010, about 6 percent of bats captured for testing were infected with rabies, the CDC said. A bat seen active during daylight or in an area bats are not normally found, such as an aircraft cabin, should be tested for rabies as a precaution.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
You have to get bitten or have it drool on you to catch rabies.
WTF? You can't unexpose someone to rabies. It's not even a word! You are either exposed to it or you are not. There's no unexposure. Journalistic standards are in the toilet!
You are trying to capture or kill an animal for examination so you leave the #$(%(#((@ cabin door open? Apparently Delta stands for the Brave New World social class of the idiots working for it.
That was my first thought also.
Did the TSA touch its junk??
Is it me, or is this title more than confusing?
Wouldn’t it be “NOT exposed?” Or is my grammar way off?
The flasher unexposed himself.
Rabid Bat: Why was Kieth Olbermann flying to Atlanta?
Your grammar is fine, I’m a bit worried about your grammper, though...
I accidently used the bat's soup spoon.
So I have probably been ununexposed.
Why do I find it funny that the bat in question was trying to get out of Madison, Wisconsin?
Oh good grief.
Here in Panama most bats eat fruits, not people or animals.
The few others who prefer blood are seldom rabid if at all.
In a geology course I took here in Panama, we entered a cave full of bats. Our mission was to get to a sinkhole at the end of the cave to see some blind fish who had been living there in darkness for thousands of years.
As we pressed forward, we were pushing the bats toward the back of the cave.
As the back of the cave became overcrowded with bats, a great many bats would come flying overhead toward the front of the cave. Yes we ducked so they wouldn’t run into us. This happened about three times.
I shouldn’t say this because it is indelicate. But by the time we left the cave, we were covered in bat guano from head to toe from the flyovers. We did not smell as we were wearing Chanel Number 5 perfume.
So you can picture the cave in your mind, there was a small stream running out of it. The cave was somewhat of a tight fit. Sometimes we were crawling on our hands and knees through the stream but always sloshing in it.
Oh by the way. As we started in, there were fresh paw prints in the sand of a big cat (tiger) that had just been there lapping water.
I loved the experience. I would do it all over again.
Coming next on Delta: Seats in the “no-rabid-bats” section are reservable at $45 per flight segment.
Since this happened last August and the “authorities” are just now deciding they were “unexposed”, it’s a good thing they weren’t or they’d all be dead. Maybe 0bama’s Death Panel decided to wait and see if anyone died from rabies before they made this announcement.
They wanted to make sure no one died of rabies before they went way out on a limb and declared them safe...
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