On Monday 12 August 2007, an injured Daubenton’s bat (Bat 1) was found on the first floor tower of Stokesay Castle in Shropshire in the United Kingdom (UK). Stokesay Castle is a 13th-century manor house in the countryside near the Welsh border that is open to the public. The bat was picked up by a member of the public and taken to a nearby wildlife rescue centre. As per guidance [1], the member of the public was provided with immunoglobulin and a five-dose course of post-exposure rabies vaccine. At the wildlife rescue centre, the bat was aggressive, bit a member of staff at the centre and subsequently died. The staff member had been previously immunised with rabies vaccine and received two further reinforcing doses [1].

On the same day, another injured baby bat (Bat 2) was found on the first floor tower of Stokesay Castle and taken to the wildlife rescue centre by a staff member from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was scratched by the bat, and was also given post-exposure prophylaxis following the guidelines. Further to this, two other unimmunised people have been in contact with the animal. Although the history of their exposure (whether they had been scratched while handling) was unclear, it was decided to also protect them with rabies vaccine. The only mildly injured bat was not euthanized, as Daubenton’s are a protected species and are only euthanised if they are severely injured or dying. The bat is well and recovering.

Laboratory investigation

The Bat 1, a female adult Daubenton’s bat, was tested at the veterinary laboratory (Weybridge, Surrey) and found to be positive for European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2), a strain of bat rabies. The test was reported positive on 14 August.

Control measures

Apart from providing post-exposure prophylaxis with rabies vaccine to those who were exposed, the first floor tower of Stokesay Castle was closed to the public on 15 August. As part of a further risk assessment on 16 August, a detailed survey for bats in the tower was under taken by two experienced wildlife surveyors and licensed bat workers; however a survey to test for the prevalence of lyssaviruses in the colony was not possible, as this is a protected species. The surveyors’ conclusion was that there was an active maternity roost of Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) in the first floor of the tower and a number of recommendations to reduce the risk of a member of public picking up a potentially diseased bat from the colony was given.

Excluding bats from the castle without substantially altering the character of the building was almost impossible. The risk of exposure could be eliminated if the first floor tower was closed to the public. However, after careful consideration it was agreed to use less drastic measures to achieve similar results. As the bat activity was during the night, the most likely time a bat would be found was in the morning. Therefore, the following measures were to be put in place:

• The staff was informed about the potential risk, as well as protective measures when picking up a diseased or dead bat, such as wearing protective gloves etc.;

• A member of staff would check for any dead or injured bats daily before the tower was open to the public;

• A detailed sign put on the first floor tower advising members of the public not to touch or pick up any bats, in the unlikely circumstance they find one, and mentioning that bats can carry the rabies virus;

• A protocol written for staff to take action in case they come across a dead or injured bat.

Conclusion

Rabies-related viruses (EBLV-2) have been reported in bats from several European countries. Bats suffering from these viruses show signs of disorientation, malcoordination, and occasional aggression. No case of indigenous human rabies from animals other than bats has been reported in the UK since 1902. Rabies-related bat viruses do not appear to readily infect other mammals. In 2002 a man from Scotland died from rabies caused by EBLV-2 acquired from a bat [2,3]. One more case of EBLV-2 (fatal) has been reported in Finland in 1985 [4].* There are now 17 species of bats living in the UK. Under a passive surveillance scheme in the UK, more than 600 bats of many species have been tested for rabies since 1987 [5]. This was only the sixth bat to test positive for the virus. All six have been Daubenton’s bats. The risk of rabies from Daubenton’s bats is negligible if appropriate timely medical treatment is given after exposure. Vaccination is effective in preventing onset of rabies. Other animals tend to carry the classical rabies virus, of which there are many more human cases.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to colleagues from Defra/Animal Health, English Heritage, Natural England, Bat Conservation Trust, Shropshire Primary Care Trust, Centre for Infections, West Midlands Regional Health Protection Agency, Government Office West Midlands and independent bat surveyors who helped to manage this incident.

*Authors' correction
A correction was made on 3 October 2007. In the last paragraph the authors wrote "A further three cases of EBLV-2 (all fatal in humans) have been reported in the past 30 years in Europe, in Ukraine, Russia and Finland [4]." In fact, they were two cases of EBLV-1 and one of EBLV-2. The sentence was therefore corrected as follows: "One more case of EBLV-2 (fatal) has been reported in Finland in 1985."