Southwestern Manitoba doctor warns of rabies risk as potential bat exposures spike - CBC

So far this year, Prairie Mountain Health has assessed 40 people who may have had exposure to a bat, the health authority said in a statement. That's up from 10 potential exposures last year. (Getty Images)Social SharingA spike in reported potential exposures has doctors in Manitoba's Prairie Mountain Health region warning of the dangers of human contact with bats, including the risk of contracting rabies.

While not the most common transmitter of rabies to humans in Manitoba, bats can carry the virus. That's why any contact requires immediate medical assessment, says Dr. Anna Johnston, a medical officer of health for the Prairie Mountain Health region.

The virus can be carried by any mammal, including skunks, racoons, foxes or, in some cases, livestock like cattle, but bats are a special concern because they're so small, an exposure to one can escape notice, she said.

"A person may not feel a bat bite or a bat scratch," said Johnston. "They may not have any mark on their skin."

So far this year, Prairie Mountain Health has assessed 40 people who may have had exposure to a bat, the health authority said in a statement. That's up from 10 potential exposures last year.

It notes that not all of those people were confirmed to have had an exposure to a bat.

But it's unclear what's driving the spike in reports, Johnston said.

It could be more bats are present in the western Manitoba region, but the more likely explanation is growing public awareness about rabies, and the importance of reporting physical encounters with a bat. 

Across the province, 100 samples have been assessed for rabies this year, including 17 involving bats, according to provincial data. There were three positive rabies test results, including two involving bats.

It's been "an unusual year" across the province, said Johnston.

"Going forward, we'll be keeping a close eye on this to see … if the number of exposures continues to be high."

Craig Willis, a professor at the University of Winnipeg's department of biology who is an expert in bats, thinks the uptick in exposure reports is because people are acutely aware of the dangers of rabies.

Incidents such as the 2024 death of an 11-year-old Ontario boy from rabies after a bat exposure, along with three people exposed to potential rabies in Quebec this summer, make it much more likely people are getting the message that rabies is dangerous, said Willis.

"For safety's sake … if a bat touches [or] makes contact with you, I would also go and get rabies shots," he said.

He notes rabies is very rare in bats. Since 2014, they have accounted for less than two per cent of animals submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that tested positive for the virus.

"People don't encounter, usually, healthy bats because they're busy flying around," Willis said.

A bat with white-nose syndrome, a fungal infection that has devastated bat populations in Manitoba and elsewhere. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

He also thinks it's unlikely bat populations are on the rise.

"It's probably just sharp-eyed people got lucky and saw more bats this summer," said Willis.

Hibernating bat populations in Manitoba have been devastated by white-nose syndrome, a fatal fungal disease first found in the province in 2018, Willis said. The disease killed between 10 to 20 per cent of the population.

He's part of a citizen science website called Neighbourhood Bat Watch, where people can report bat sightings to help track populations. 

"We haven't seen a lot of recovering" in the bat species found in Manitoba, including big brown bats, little brown bats and migratory silver-haired bats, said Willis.

"Most of our bats in Manitoba are endangered."

Rabies has a typical incubation period of three to eight weeks in humans. When a person develops rabies symptoms, the disease is almost always fatal, said Prairie Mountain Health's Johnston.

However, she's unaware of any human deaths from rabies in the health region.

Once symptoms appear, there is no treatment, meaning prevention is essential, as is seeking medical care immediately if an exposure is suspected.

If there is a risk of rabies, a post-exposure vaccination can prevent the illness from developing.

Anyone who may have been exposed to an infected animal should immediately wash out any bites or scratches with soap and water, and should contact a health-care provider. 

From there, the health-care provider can do an initial assessment of the rabies risk, Johnston said.

If possible, the bat or animal involved in the incident is sent away for testing.

Of the bats tested in Prairie Mountain Health this year, one was positive for rabies — on par with 2025, Johnston said. 

The health region will continue monitoring for the disease, she said.

"On the plus side, people are really reporting the exposures … and we're not seeing anyone developing rabies," said Johnston.

"That gives us some reassurance that we're not missing anything, that people are doing a very good job of reporting."

Chelsea Kemp is a multimedia journalist with CBC Manitoba. She is based in CBC's bureau in Brandon, covering stories focused on rural Manitoba. Share your story ideas, tips and feedback with chelsea.kemp@cbc.ca.