Man suffers bat bite
Couple waiting to find out if the animal was rabid
By Molly Montag Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, August 05, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- He's usually a slipper man, but Joseph Shufro of Sioux City will be wearing socks for the next few days.
Shufro slid his left foot into his slipper Sunday morning as he and his wife, Hanh Shufro, were getting out of bed in their Fourth Avenue home, Hanh Shufro said.
But instead of the comforting softness of his slipper, he felt something sharp. He looked closer and found his footwear already occupied -- by a bat.
Joseph Shufro initially didn't think he'd been bitten, but his wife found what looked like a needle prick on his big toe. A nurse recommended they go to a hospital.
With the help of a plastic bag, a garbage can and a piece of cardboard, the Shufros captured the bat -- which met its demise in all the commotion -- and took it with them. At the hospital, the bat was handed over to Sioux City Animal Control for rabies testing.
Animal Control owner Cindy Rarrat said Shufro's incident, which involved a brown bat, was one of a couple of bat calls the agency received this weekend.
Although the agency receives the most bat-related calls during the fall, Rarrat said people have run-ins with bats year-round. In the winter, she said, the winged mammals often enter homes to try to stay warm and, more recently, they appear to be sneaking indoors to stay cool during the recent heat wave.
Bats usually don't attack people, Rarrat said, and often are trying to find a way to escape. They fly using sonar, which might make them look more menacing then they are.
"Even though it looks like they’re dive-bombing you, they're looking for a way out," Rarrat said. "Typically, if you open a door or window, they sense the air current and find their way out."
Sabohi Hafeez, of Siouxland District Health, said officials sent a bat to a lab for testing Monday and expect to get results in the next few days.
Although the agency sends about 30 bats for testing in any given year, Hafeez said very few test positive for rabies.
Hanh Shufro said she and her husband aren't worried, even though a positive result this time would mean a series of shots -- for both of them.
Although only Joseph Shufro was bitten, Hanh Shufro remembers feeling something slide off her hair just as she was falling asleep. At the time, she thought it was a hairpin, but when she woke up, she realized she wasn't missing any hairpins.
"If it is positive we'll just have to (have) shots, but we're not losing our life for that, so, no, we're pretty calm," she said.
For now, Hanh Shufro thinks her husband might be reconsidering her advice to wear open-toed slippers. He can't wear his old ones until the tests come back, she said, in case the bat deposited saliva inside.
"Now he wears socks," she said.
Bats and rabies
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, people can contract rabies from infected bats by being bitten or if the animal's saliva gets into their eyes, nose, mouth or a wound.
If you're bitten, the CDC recommends you wash the area thoroughly and contact a medical professional immediately. If possible, trap the bat so it can be tested for rabies.
Shufro slid his left foot into his slipper Sunday morning as he and his wife, Hanh Shufro, were getting out of bed in their Fourth Avenue home, Hanh Shufro said.
But instead of the comforting softness of his slipper, he felt something sharp. He looked closer and found his footwear already occupied -- by a bat.
Joseph Shufro initially didn't think he'd been bitten, but his wife found what looked like a needle prick on his big toe. A nurse recommended they go to a hospital.
With the help of a plastic bag, a garbage can and a piece of cardboard, the Shufros captured the bat -- which met its demise in all the commotion -- and took it with them. At the hospital, the bat was handed over to Sioux City Animal Control for rabies testing.
Animal Control owner Cindy Rarrat said Shufro's incident, which involved a brown bat, was one of a couple of bat calls the agency received this weekend.
Although the agency receives the most bat-related calls during the fall, Rarrat said people have run-ins with bats year-round. In the winter, she said, the winged mammals often enter homes to try to stay warm and, more recently, they appear to be sneaking indoors to stay cool during the recent heat wave.
Bats usually don't attack people, Rarrat said, and often are trying to find a way to escape. They fly using sonar, which might make them look more menacing then they are.
"Even though it looks like they’re dive-bombing you, they're looking for a way out," Rarrat said. "Typically, if you open a door or window, they sense the air current and find their way out."
Sabohi Hafeez, of Siouxland District Health, said officials sent a bat to a lab for testing Monday and expect to get results in the next few days.
Although the agency sends about 30 bats for testing in any given year, Hafeez said very few test positive for rabies.
Hanh Shufro said she and her husband aren't worried, even though a positive result this time would mean a series of shots -- for both of them.
Although only Joseph Shufro was bitten, Hanh Shufro remembers feeling something slide off her hair just as she was falling asleep. At the time, she thought it was a hairpin, but when she woke up, she realized she wasn't missing any hairpins.
"If it is positive we'll just have to (have) shots, but we're not losing our life for that, so, no, we're pretty calm," she said.
For now, Hanh Shufro thinks her husband might be reconsidering her advice to wear open-toed slippers. He can't wear his old ones until the tests come back, she said, in case the bat deposited saliva inside.
"Now he wears socks," she said.
Bats and rabies
According to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, people can contract rabies from infected bats by being bitten or if the animal's saliva gets into their eyes, nose, mouth or a wound.
If you're bitten, the CDC recommends you wash the area thoroughly and contact a medical professional immediately. If possible, trap the bat so it can be tested for rabies.
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Donna Martin wrote on Aug 23, 2008 9:50 AM: