THE ROLE OF BATS IN THE TRANSMISSION 



OF RABIES 



By 



Charles R. Schroeder 



San Diego 2x)ological Gardens 



Three recent reports have brought to us an entirely new concept 

 concerning the transmission of rabies virus. Courter, 1954, in his paper 

 "Bat Rabies," reviews two of the reports; first, the findings of the Tampa 

 Regional Laboratory of the Florida State Board of Health, identifying 

 the Florida yellow bat {Dasypterus floridanus) and the seminole bat 

 (Lasirus scminola), both species insectivorous, as vectors of rabies in 

 June, 1953; and, second, that of Witte, Pennsylvania State Department 

 of Health, who in September, 1953, reported rabies in an insectivorous 

 bat, species unknown, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Enright, 1954, Univer- 

 sity of California, reported the isolation of rabies virus from a Mexican 

 Freetail bat in California. 



Public health officials have dealt with many unexplained outbreaks 

 of rabies and have felt that they must involve some unknown vector in 

 which a latent carrier state exists. The reports of Pawan (1936), Ver- 

 teuil and Urich (1936), Gilyard (1945), Johnson (1948), Schroeder 

 (1952), and the review by Malaga-Alba (1954), indicate quite clearly 

 and conclusively that vampire bats have been justifiably incriminated 

 as disseminators of rabies virus to cattle and other domesticated animals 

 and to man for more than half a century. 



The animal vectors of rabies virus for man in order of importance 

 are: the dog, fox, jackal, wolf, skunk, coyote, raccoon, vampire bat, cat, 



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