WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.319 In October of twenty twenty four, a man in Ohio 2 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:07.639 saw a skunk and his kitten ready to rumble. He 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:10.359 did what I think most of us would do. He 4 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.160 stepped in grabbed his cat, but in the process he 5 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.960 was scratched by the skunk. He didn't think much of 6 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.600 it as a scratch. He didn't seek medical treatment because again, 7 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.320 it was a scratch. However, weeks later he collapsed and 8 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:28.559 died from what appeared to be cardiac arrest. However, his 9 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:32.240 cause of death would be called into question only after 10 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:38.200 his organs were donated. I'm Danielle, I'm Megan, and this 11 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:50.880 is Off the Trails. 12 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:52.280 Yikes. 13 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.600 Yeah, so this episode's a little bit different than I 14 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:58.359 think any of the ones that we have previously. I 15 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:04.239 think we've done like a few animal encounter episodes, but 16 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.920 they're not usually our main jam. 17 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:10.200 Yeah, we've dabbled in it, and I know we have 18 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:13.200 a few in the queue that we want to cover 19 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:18.680 that are more animal related, animal encounter and attack related, 20 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:22.319 but we haven't done a whole lot that involved them. 21 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:23.680 Yeah. 22 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:29.640 So this topic came to the forefront of my brain 23 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:33.120 when we did our last headline episode, and I was 24 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:35.840 just like perusing headlines, and I happen to see like 25 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:41.840 several headlines like all over the country about this topic. 26 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:44.439 And I was like, all right, let me do a 27 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.799 little bit deeper dive. And since I wrote this episode 28 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.760 last week, I have now started reading a book about 29 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:54.319 the topic. 30 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:55.840 I have. 31 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:01.480 Disturbed my coworkers, probably deeply with facts that they didn't 32 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:05.519 ask for. Literally yesterday, I'm sharing all this information and 33 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:07.599 my friends started to back away towards his office and 34 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.240 I said, hey, hey, do not walk away. 35 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:11.560 I'm telling you something. 36 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:15.319 And he didn't want to listen to this, but I 37 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.560 made him, so now everyone can listen to some of 38 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:20.240 this information. 39 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:24.120 Well, I am intrigued and looking forward to it. 40 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:28.120 And you know what, like speaking of animals, yesterday I 41 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:32.039 was leaving and my neighbor waved me down, and I 42 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:34.360 was nervous because I was scared that, like I was 43 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.280 being a bad neighbor about something and she was going 44 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:39.840 to yell at me cold de yeah, and she just 45 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.400 wanted to let me know that she saw a coral 46 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:49.439 snake between our houses. And she's like, I know you 47 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:52.840 have a dog and a cat, and I just wanted 48 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:56.400 you to be aware that I saw him and he 49 00:02:56.479 --> 00:02:59.039 like snuck away before I could, you know, before she 50 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:03.520 could do anything about it, which, of course, like I 51 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.199 don't want to inflict harm on any animals. And I 52 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:08.439 don't know how she wanted, how she wanted to address it. 53 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:10.280 But I. 54 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:15.639 Am a little unnerved now because you know, you never 55 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.039 want to know that there's like a venomous snake just 56 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:19.199 chilling in your yard. 57 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.719 No, definitely not. Yeah, I'm with you. I do not 58 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.879 like snakes at all. I don't want that snake in 59 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.280 my I don't want any snake in my yard. Uh 60 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:31.560 the other some snakes are good, though. Some snakes you 61 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:32.960 definitely want in your yard. 62 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:34.960 I know, but I don't not my guard. They can 63 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.479 be in my neighbor's yards, that's great and fine, just 64 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:38.319 not my yard. 65 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:41.719 For some reason, I was going down to my basement. 66 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.360 The other night to get ice out of the freezer, 67 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:46.439 and I thought to myself, as a walking down the 68 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:49.319 stairs for no reason, what if a snake got in 69 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:50.680 here and there's a snake down here when I go 70 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:51.120 down here? 71 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.879 Like, what why did I do? Why do I do 72 00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:55.919 those things to myself? 73 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:57.960 There was not a snake down there, but I'm like, 74 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:01.719 what if I came down here and there's just a snake. 75 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:08.439 Your basement is like prime living for snakies. 76 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.919 It is because it's partially rock cement not not cement 77 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:15.319 rock foundation. 78 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:20.439 Yeah, it's it's yeah, it's like cool, it's it's dank 79 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.639 down there, like they would love it. 80 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:29.000 I think they would so hated that. But you know, 81 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:30.240 other than that, it's all right. 82 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:35.319 Love it. So as long as you're they're fine. 83 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:40.680 I will be purchasing you a ticket to fly up here. 84 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:42.360 If there's a snake in my basement so that you 85 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:43.439 can help get it out. 86 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:47.519 That's totally fine. I think you guys only have one 87 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:52.199 venomous snake in New Hampshire. I think that's correct, the timber, 88 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:57.480 the timber rattlesnake, I think right, Yes, very low population 89 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:01.079 though they're very far and view between up fair. 90 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:06.519 I don't want the snake in my house. I know 91 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:07.920 this is something that cute. 92 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.560 This is something I've totally made up in my mind 93 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.120 and inflicted upon myself. 94 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.439 But now I think about, I want to go into 95 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:18.319 my basement. What does a snake in here? Why? 96 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:21.160 I think also seeing them in their natural habitat is 97 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.759 one thing, but they're startling if they're somewhere that you're 98 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:27.360 not you're not anticipating them, in which I feel like 99 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.160 we've had this conversation before. 100 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:32.680 We have. Yeah, So all right. 101 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:37.240 So after James Martin, the gentleman that I spoke of 102 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:41.759 in the intro, died in December twenty twenty four, his 103 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:46.319 family honored his wishes of becoming an organ downer after 104 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:49.240 one of his kidneys went to a patient in Michigan. 105 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:54.439 Five weeks after the transplant, patient started to develop trumors. 106 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:01.040 They developed weakness, confusion, fever, which, obviously there can be 107 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:07.199 a lot of complications from a transplant surgery, infections, so 108 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:09.959 fever and some of these other things definitely can be 109 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.639 symptoms of a whole host of medical concerns. But then 110 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.199 he developed one telltale sign that told his doctors that 111 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:24.959 his symptoms weren't caused by any of these comment somewhat 112 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.680 expected complications from a transplant. 113 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:35.120 The man developed an extreme aversion to water. Oh weird, okay. 114 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:39.600 Yep, and he died fifty one days after receiving that 115 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.480 kidney transplant. So do you know what we're talking about today? 116 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.199 From the little I've given you, it would it be 117 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:53.040 a little bit of rabies? Correct? Correct. 118 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.720 It's one of the oldest and probably one of the 119 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:01.879 most misunderstood dangers that don't come at the intersection of 120 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:08.560 humans and wildlife interactions. And of course, because I took 121 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:13.839 this research way far, some of the earliest accounts of 122 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.160 rabies related symptoms at least goes back. 123 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:25.360 To nineteen thirty BCE. Oh so way back. 124 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:33.439 So in some documentation from Mesopotamia in nineteen thirty BCE, 125 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.360 so way back. 126 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.800 And I also. 127 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.879 Again just like really went into this too much, But 128 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:48.279 there is evidence that gives historians and folklore experts reason 129 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:51.959 to think that at least some of the accounts of 130 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:59.439 werewolves or even vampires, that those stories may actually be 131 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:02.759 related to cases of rabies. 132 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:08.279 Okay, I mean wearable things definitely make sense. The curse. 133 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:12.120 You get bit by a wolf and you have all 134 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:17.319 these terrible symptoms and end up dying. Yeah, I had 135 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.519 surface level knowledge of rabies before, but I think it's 136 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:25.759 a lot scarier and much closer to us than I 137 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:28.360 think a lot of us realize. I was like doing 138 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:32.000 the headlines research, and I saw articles about bats in 139 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:36.600 California testing positive, a raccoon in New York, a fox 140 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:41.559 in Maine, people being treated preventively after finding a bat 141 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:45.600 in their house. Just tons and tons of local headlines 142 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:50.360 from the past couple weeks or days, just very And 143 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:52.080 I don't know if I just happened to catch the 144 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.000 headlines at the right time where I just happened to 145 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:56.120 see them all together and it felt like a lot, 146 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:00.600 or if this is normal number of cases being reported. 147 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.799 I hate that there's such a strong correlation between bats 148 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:08.320 and rabies because they are so precious, you. 149 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:09.799 Know, bats are like my favorite. 150 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:14.519 Only four percent of bats test pust of four rabies 151 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:15.759 four percent. 152 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:21.519 Four percent, Okay, so yeah, not bad, right, But in the. 153 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:28.679 North America at least, the primary uh vector for rabies 154 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:29.799 to humans is bats. 155 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:31.799 Okay, even though it's all like four percent. So, but 156 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.080 there's a lot of bats, you know, yeah, lots of bats. 157 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.120 So before we get into a few of the cases, 158 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:39.759 I think we need to kind of talk about rabi's basics, 159 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.960 because without understanding what rabies actually is and what it 160 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:47.000 does to the body, I don't think people get the 161 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:51.919 full impact of the virus. As a virus, rabies has 162 00:09:51.960 --> 00:09:57.000 one job, and that's to get to the brain. It 163 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:00.720 gets in through a bite or a scratch or It 164 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:08.720 can be contact with any kind of mucous membrane like nose, eyes, mouths, 165 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:14.039 any of those places you don't want viruses, or probably 166 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:16.440 any interaction with animals. 167 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.720 Those body parts all sound way better when they're not 168 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.360 referred to as mucous membranes. 169 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:22.639 I know, I know. 170 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:27.759 So once the virus gets in your body, it travels 171 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:31.440 differently than other viruses do most viruses. They get into 172 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:39.440 your bloodstream and then circulate Rabi's It travels through your 173 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.159 nerves up to your central nervous system. Its goal is 174 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:47.159 your brain, and I think one of the scarier things 175 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:53.879 that I didn't know about is incubation period. It can 176 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.720 be anywhere from a few weeks to several months, possibly 177 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:05.159 even longer. The longest from contact to symptoms appearing that 178 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:09.919 has been recorded at least is almost five years. So 179 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:14.600 someone had an interaction with something five years before they 180 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:15.840 develop symptoms. 181 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.240 And that makes it so much more difficult to pinpoint 182 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:24.600 the cause of these symptoms someone is having, because how 183 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:27.399 do you say, like, oh, you know what, I was 184 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.519 exposed to a bat five years ago, So that is 185 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.720 probably why I'm experiencing what I'm experiencing right now. I 186 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:38.879 imagine makes it very challenging to sometimes determine like why 187 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.879 someone is having the symptoms they're having and where it 188 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:43.679 came from. 189 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.000 Right to be like, oh, yeah, twelve hundred days ago, 190 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:49.559 I had an interaction with a bat. 191 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:53.960 I forgot to mention that, right, or you know, a bat. 192 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:55.559 I feel like a bat stands out. 193 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.039 I mean a lot of animals that you don't typically 194 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:01.440 interact with or touch, they do stand out. Like if 195 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.360 if I pet a raccoon, I'd probably mark that in 196 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:06.000 my calendar. 197 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:08.159 And you know what I mean. 198 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:11.840 Like yeah, exactly, like oh my gosh, Like on May twelfth, 199 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:16.840 I pet a raccoon and it was wonderful. But you know, 200 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:19.399 skunks and all of that, like kind of in your intro. 201 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:23.720 It's just that does stand out, but it's it would 202 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:29.360 still be difficult to make that connection when so much time. 203 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.159 Four or five years later, Yeah, I mean even even 204 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.279 a couple of months later. Yeah, I don't remember what 205 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:39.039 I wore or eight or did yesterday, So it might 206 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:41.960 be tough to remember what caused these symptoms years down 207 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.879 the line or months even. Yeah, and during the incubation time, 208 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:50.039 the virus is completely silent that entire time, so there's 209 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:53.919 no symptoms, no warning until it reaches the brain. 210 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:55.519 Then the first. 211 00:12:55.320 --> 00:13:01.039 Symptoms look like it could be a variety of health issues. 212 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.720 Its fever, headache, fatigue. 213 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:09.320 People might experience in tingling or discomfort at the original 214 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.759 wound site, and I assume that that would. 215 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:15.399 Be if it was a shorter incubation period. 216 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:19.360 I don't know that if people are getting symptomes like 217 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.360 months down the line, that they still have that tingling 218 00:13:22.519 --> 00:13:24.039 sensation near the wound. 219 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:27.360 Maybe they do, I don't know. And this is called 220 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.039 the prodomal phase, when. 221 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:34.559 The body just feels like a vague sense of something 222 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.879 not being right, like people just don't feel great. They 223 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:41.960 don't really have a reason or explanation, which's like I'm 224 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:46.840 feeling kind of crappy, not feeling good, and very quickly 225 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:49.960 things get worse from there. 226 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.360 In about eighty percent of. 227 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:58.600 Cases, it's what's called furious races. 228 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:05.960 Furious rabies develops. You get agitation, confusion, hallucinizations. I don't 229 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.519 know why I was trying to put a Z in 230 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:12.720 hallucin Isn't it just hallucinations, right? But I was trying 231 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.960 to put a Z in it. I don't know why 232 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:18.720 add an extra syllable with the z hallucinizations. 233 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:26.960 Yeah, bizarre behavior. Eventually, saliva production increases dramatically, so that's 234 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:31.159 where you get like the frothing at the mouth symptom. 235 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:37.679 And then there's the hydrophobia or the fear of water, 236 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:43.159 which is very extremely unique to Raby's infections. 237 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:44.639 That's wild. 238 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:48.000 The virus affects the part of the brain that controls 239 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:55.559 swallowing and breathing, So when victims are attempting to drink, 240 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:00.120 the muscles in the throat literally go into a spasm. 241 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.960 They're physically not able to ingest any liquid. 242 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:09.759 That's those spasms cause choking and the sensation of just 243 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.759 sheer panic and fear. And in some cases, I's gonna say, 244 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:17.840 in severe cases. I think any case of rabies is severe. 245 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:22.159 So just any case of rabies people can even experience, 246 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:30.440 just hearing or seeing water or liquid even can trigger 247 00:15:30.519 --> 00:15:36.080 that intense panic. The remaining twenty percent of victims infected 248 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:41.919 develop what's called paralytic rabies, and this starts with paralysis 249 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:45.399 at the wound site and then spreads upward through the 250 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:51.240 body towards the brain. This version is slower and I 251 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:56.519 guess less dramatic than you know, the symptoms I just described, 252 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.799 but ultimately it's still traveling towards the brain and it's 253 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:05.039 going to be the same outcome both forms and in coma, 254 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:11.120 usually within two to three days of coma onset is 255 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:16.879 when death occurs. The total window of time from when 256 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:24.080 symptoms first appear to death is almost never more than 257 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:28.799 two weeks, so once people show symptoms, it's very quickly 258 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:34.480 resulting in death. And once symptoms appear, rabies is considered 259 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:43.120 universally fatal, not mostly fatal. Universally fatal, Approximately fifty nine 260 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:47.720 thousand people die every year from it globally. Most of 261 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:52.320 those deaths occur in Asia and Africa, and in those 262 00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:56.200 areas it is mostly from dog bites. So in those 263 00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:59.919 areas there are a lot more stray dogs, almost it spared, 264 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:05.000 but that's not stray dogs, just extra dogs I mean, 265 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:06.599 which I guess kind of is true as well. 266 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:08.920 Yeah, spare stray. 267 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:14.920 Dogs, you know, and they are obviously not vaccinated, and 268 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.640 the risk of dogs in those areas of the world 269 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.279 having radies is much higher. In the United States, we've 270 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:27.119 gotten the number of deaths down to one to three 271 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.960 a year, so very low, and Canada has only seen 272 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:36.720 twenty eight human cases since nineteen twenty four, so at 273 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:43.160 least in North America, cases are very low, luckily, but 274 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.880 no matter where you are, once you see those symptoms, 275 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:51.599 death is coming. It doesn't It doesn't matter if you 276 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.880 have access to the best healthcare or no healthcare, you 277 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:00.640 are very likely going to die. The number of people 278 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:06.359 who have ever survived is so slim that with a 279 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:10.079 tiny amount arounding statistically, it still makes it one hundred 280 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.640 percent fatal. And like I said earlier, in the United 281 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:19.039 States and Canada, bats are primarily responsible for the majority 282 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:24.559 of human rabies cases, So not those raccoons, not foxes, 283 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.519 not skunks, not dogs like other parts of the world. 284 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.839 Even though like all of those animals can and do 285 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:35.200 carry rabies here, bats. 286 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:42.319 Are the primary concern here, and most bat bites are tiny. 287 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:46.640 If you're ever bitten while sleeping, apparently. 288 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:50.200 You might never know, like a bat could chomp on 289 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:51.920 you and you're gonna sleep right through it. 290 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:56.039 Maybe I don't know that I would, but I don't know. 291 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.559 I wake up on America sleeper like you might just 292 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:03.400 note that it happened. Yeah, their teeth are small enough 293 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.799 that it's not going to wake the average person at least, 294 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:12.000 and these bites aren't going to leave a visible mark, 295 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:15.039 you know, especially if you don't know anything happened. 296 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:16.359 You're not looking for anything. 297 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:18.960 So if you see a little red spot on your skin, 298 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:21.200 you're not thinking about it at all. 299 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:25.440 Probably it's not a dramatic puncture wound. It's like invisible. 300 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:30.920 So because of that, the CDC has a recommendation which 301 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:35.119 I did not know about until getting into this rabies research, 302 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.200 that if you happen to wake up and there's a 303 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.359 bat in your room, you should assume that you have 304 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:45.759 been exposed to rabies and seek medical attention immediately. 305 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:50.599 And this freaks me out so much because. 306 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:53.720 There have been several bats in the house that I 307 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:57.960 grew up in. In my bedroom growing up, there were 308 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.559 several occasions where I woke up and there was a 309 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:06.000 bat in my room, including May twenty ninth of twenty sixteen. 310 00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:09.920 Because I went into my camera role, I was like, oh, yeah, 311 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.039 I know that there was a bat in my room. 312 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:16.039 When I was living at my baron's house and I 313 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:21.000 found the picture of an adorable bat just hanging on 314 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.880 the back of my bedroom door, and my son was 315 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:29.079 about eight months old at the time, and he was 316 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:34.559 clapping as the bat was flying around the room, So 317 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:38.039 you know, now, ten years later, I'm like, oh my god, 318 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:40.119 we should have gone to the emergency room. 319 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:42.240 See. 320 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.319 But this is why this is educational, so that, yes, 321 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.160 other people can hopefully take something away from this episode. 322 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:51.559 Yep. 323 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.279 And when I was looking for that bat picture, I 324 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:57.200 also found another random close up of a bat in 325 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:58.960 a tree that I took, and I'm like, I don't 326 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:00.880 even remember this, but why am I so close. 327 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:01.519 To all these bats? 328 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:06.079 So obviously I did not have proper rabies fear up 329 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:12.680 until now. So just so anyone else is aware, especially 330 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:14.599 if you live in an old house. 331 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:19.039 Or you know a cave, a cave. 332 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:22.119 Perhaps there was even a time where a baby bat 333 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:27.480 somehow got in the basement of my parents' house and I. 334 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.559 Did work love, but I. 335 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:30.519 Scooped it up and I put it in a box, 336 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:35.160 and I called a bunch of wildlife rehab or rescue places, 337 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:37.400 and a lot of places this should have been a 338 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.359 trigger moment for me. A lot of places won't take 339 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:44.119 them because of the risk of rabies, and I was like, Okay, 340 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:46.119 well someone's gonna take this baby bat. 341 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:48.920 You're like, I guess I'm your mommy, now right. 342 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:55.720 Eventually I did get my nephew's uncle. He does humane 343 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:01.480 like animal removal, so he came and took the baby 344 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:05.359 bat and got the baby bat to a point where 345 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.079 he could release the baby bat. 346 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:08.440 But that's incredible. 347 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:15.160 Typically rehabs and things of that nature, they typically do 348 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:19.720 not take bats because of the high rabies risk. Okay, 349 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:24.799 because these interactions with the bat or the you know, 350 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:30.279 physical contact with the bat result in nothing of note. Really, 351 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:36.480 many cases of human raby death deaths in the US 352 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:41.759 the person didn't even realize they'd been exposed, or you know, 353 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:45.400 just dismissed the interaction because they didn't feel a bite 354 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.720 or scratch or anything like that. There was recently a 355 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:51.680 woman in Wyoming who woke up with a bat in 356 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:57.799 her room, as I have, my parents have on several occasions, 357 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:02.440 at least I won't say many several occasions, and for 358 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:06.200 this woman, the bat was gone by the morning. She 359 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:10.079 didn't seek treatment, and she ended up dying of rabies, 360 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:14.160 oh my goodness. And more than two dozen people who 361 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:18.960 had contact with her during her illness then had to 362 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:24.240 be evaluated and treated. And most of these treatments are 363 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:29.720 preventative because again, once you have symptoms, it's too late. 364 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:36.160 So anyone who is receiving the rabies vaccine or treatment, 365 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:38.920 it is out of an abundance of caution. 366 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:39.720 Typically. 367 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.000 There was another woman in South Carolina who found a 368 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:47.640 bat again in her bedroom. She shook it out through 369 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:53.319 the window and she decided she really hadn't had direct 370 00:23:53.319 --> 00:23:54.279 contact with it. 371 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.839 She also didn't seek treatment. She did end up calling. 372 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:03.799 A bat removal service because I'm guessing she assumed that 373 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:07.200 that's were living in the eaves of her house or 374 00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:10.920 the chimney or something of that nature, and she didn't 375 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:13.640 want a bat inside her house again, which is reasonable. 376 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:20.720 But in this interaction with the removal service, they didn't 377 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:25.440 mention the risk of rabies to her. And I don't 378 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:29.960 know if she didn't tell them that the bat there 379 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:32.640 was a bat inside her home and that what prompted 380 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:35.680 this call, but it sounds like there was no oh, hey, 381 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:40.039 you probably should seek medical treatment after that, and this 382 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:41.440 woman also ended up dying. 383 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:44.759 You're unlocking a new fear. Thank you so much. 384 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:48.359 I you know, I go through my days saying, Megan, 385 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.799 you don't have enough anxiety. I think you should find 386 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:55.079 things to be anxious about. And you've delivered. Thank you, 387 00:24:54.680 --> 00:25:00.440 You're welcome. So you know, these were not reckless people 388 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:03.640 in anyway. They were literally sleeping in their own. 389 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:07.920 Homes, and they just assumed that if they had been 390 00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:11.359 bitten or scratched that they would have known, which again 391 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:14.759 I think is an assumption that most people would make, like, oh, 392 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:18.559 I don't have any visible wounds, I don't have bleeding, 393 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:20.359 I don't I didn't feel anything. 394 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:25.440 So I think that's an easy assumption to make that 395 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:29.319 you were not in contact with the bad enough. Yeah, 396 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:32.599 and again, any of those women could have been be 397 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.960 or my family, because you know, we just opened the window, 398 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:39.359 got the bat out. I think one time my dad 399 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:41.599 like had broom and shoot it out. Now I'm like, 400 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:47.839 we are psychos, just bat handling. Oh god, I feel 401 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:51.240