Fellow Cavers, I work with bats every day. I also cave almost every week. So I feel pretty confident in this topic. I can truly say that unless I had a job where I worked with bats (or other wildlife), that I would NOT get the rabies pre-exposure vaccine. It is five shots, over a series of months, and is really expensive (usually around $700). For most cavers, there is little or no chance of contracting rabies. That is, unless you do something stupid like pick up one of the animals and get bitten. The pre-exposure series does not make you "immune" to rabies, all it does is reduce the number of shots (to 3) that you have to get if you are bitten by a rabid animal. The efficacy of the vaccine can diminish over time. Each year, I have a blood draw to check my blood titer. If the rabies antibodies in my system are lower than a recommended level, I get a booster shot. If I get bit by a suspect animal, I go in and get the post-exposure shots. None of them are particularly painful or make me sick. Tetanus shots are much worse. John must have had an unusual reaction. Bottom line: save your money, don't get the shots, but don't do anything stupid, either.
Jim Kennedy, Conservation Biologist Cave and Mine Resources Specialist Bat Conservation International --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
