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Assessment of rabies exposure risk in a group of U.S. Air Force basic trainees - Texas, January 2014.
- Source :
-
MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report [MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep] 2014 Aug 29; Vol. 63 (34), pp. 749-52. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- In January 2014, members of the Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)-Lackland, Texas, preventive medicine and public health teams evaluated a U.S. Air Force basic training squadron for potential exposure in sleeping bays to rabies virus carried by Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). Exposure to bats while asleep or otherwise unaware is an important risk factor for rabies in the United States. Over the past several decades, most indigenous human rabies infections in the United States have resulted from the bite of an infected bat, and the bite was not reported in more than half of the cases. Mexican free-tailed bats in Texas often carry rabies virus. Among 8,904 bats tested during 2001-2010, a total of 1,558 (18%) tested positive for rabies. To assess the risk to the Air Force trainees and identify those for whom rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) might be indicated, Lackland preventive medicine and public health teams interviewed 922 persons (866 trainees and 56 instructors) and determined that PEP, consisting of human rabies immune globulin and the 4-dose vaccination series given over 14 days, was indicated for 200 persons (22%). This report describes the public health response to a mass indoor exposure to bats, including group-based rabies risk stratification, adverse reactions to PEP, and infestation remediation. These interventions can be considered for future mass exposures to bats.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Bites and Stings epidemiology
Chiroptera
Environmental Restoration and Remediation methods
Humans
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Rabies epidemiology
Rabies Vaccines administration & dosage
Risk Factors
Texas epidemiology
United States
Vaccination
Zoonoses epidemiology
Zoonoses prevention & control
Zoonoses transmission
Bites and Stings prevention & control
Environmental Exposure analysis
Environmental Exposure prevention & control
Environmental Monitoring statistics & numerical data
Military Personnel statistics & numerical data
Rabies prevention & control
Rabies transmission
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1545-861X
- Volume :
- 63
- Issue :
- 34
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 25166925