Health officials fail to tell public of rabies threat

To the editor:

A bat seemingly tried to attack a woman in Bollinger County during the day. The woman killed the bat. The bat was submitted to a state laboratory and was found to have rabies. The spokesperson for the lab reported the results to the submitting veterinarian but, when told that no one had been exposed, said the lab would not have performed the test had it been aware of that fact. The lab would not notify state or local health officials of the results. Local health officials were informed by the veterinarian. They also refused to be concerned that a fatal disease source was present in that county.

I find it very troubling that public health officials are so concerned about exotic diseases such as West Nile virus, which has such a low incidence of human deaths and is of major concern to horses, but when a source of rabies is identified, no effort is made to notify the public. Rabies is nearly always fatal and affects all species of animals.

The public health department is responsible for protecting the health of the general public. This blatant disregard for notifying the public of the presence of a disease such as rabies is wrong.

NELSON L. STONE

Veterinarian

Jackson, Mo.