Cases of rabies lower this year in Missouri

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Missouri health officials say although three rabid bats have been found this summer in a Kansas City suburb, the statewide number of total rabies cases is down.

One person was bitten by one of the rabid bats found since June 1 in Lee's Summit and was treated for the bite, The Kansas City Star reported.

"There are always a few cases of rabies within bats in Missouri," said Tony Elliott, a bat biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. "It is not uncommon that after the first bat is found in a certain location that more bats get turned in and a few more positives show up."

Lee's Summit has impounded about 45 bats this year and has tested 26.

Rodney Wagner, the manager of the city's animal control department, said it's not unusual to have three bats test positive for rabies.

"The fact that it bit someone is not a good deal. Rabies are almost 100 percent fatal if it goes untreated," he said.

There have been 14 rabies cases reported in animals so far this year in Missouri; seven were rabid bats and the others were infected skunks. Officials say that's substantially lower than the 39 rabies cases reported for the same time last year. Missouri usually has about 50 rabid animals detected annually.

Kansas has had 26 cases of animal rabies reported this year.

Bats are good for the environment because they eat tons of beetles and mosquitoes, and bats also normally don't attack people.

"They don't want to have anything to do with people," Wagner said. "Bats may end up in people's houses and it freaks them out."