:)
Posted on 09/20/2006 8:50:38 AM PDT by Diddle E. Squat
A Katy music teacher bitten by a bat returned to work Tuesday as another bat captured at the school tested negative for rabies.
A public health official said students are not at risk of contracting rabies from the Mayde Creek High School orchestra teacher because he is not infectious.
"He's perfectly fine once he has had his shots," said Rita Obey, of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services Department.
Michael Jones, who was bitten Monday before school, declined to comment. He began rabies-vaccination treatment at Christus St. Catherine's Hospital in Katy as a precaution.
As Jones was about to enter his classroom Monday morning, a bat that was trapped inside the room swooped out and grazed him on the back of the head, according to Katy Independent School District spokesman Steve Stanford. The bat escaped. But in a separate part of the building, a second bat was captured.
A parent of one student at the school is still worried.
Ana Orellana said her fears stem from concern for her daughter's safety and the fact that the family does not have health insurance.
"I think they should have closed the school down for a few days to see if there are any more bats before letting the students back in," Orellana said.
Orellana's daughter, Michelle Santiago, said she isn't quite as worried about the bat incident as her mother is.
"I'm not afraid unless I see it," said Santiago, a 17-year-old senior. "Today everything is back to normal, and some students are even joking about it."
Maintenance workers performed detailed sweeps of nearby school facilities and did not find any other bats.
The school district sent letters home to parents alerting them of the discovery.
Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services confirmed last week that a bat discovered at Katy Taylor High School had tested positive for rabies.
That finding prompted at least 75 of about 7,000 people who were notified about the rabid bat to show up at the school for health screenings Saturday.
Ana Orellana said her fears stem from concern for her daughter's safety and the fact that the family does not have health insurance.
"I think they should have closed the school down for a few days to see if there are any more bats before letting the students back in," Orellana said.
A public health official said students are not at risk of contracting rabies from the Mayde Creek High School orchestra teacher because he is not infectious.
"He's perfectly fine once he has had his shots," said Rita Obey, of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services Department.
Well that, and the odds of an orchestra teacher biting his students are usually pretty low, too. Or can looks kill these days?
Babe Bitten by Bat Bitter, But Better.
Nope, the 'bitten but better' was a big boy, the babe was an unbitten bittie with a entitlement mentality (shut down the school because I chose not to buy insuarance.)
Though I admit to being a bit bitter than this was so quickly relegated to chat when it is an example of the segment of the voting public that expects big expenditures of public funds (shutting down a school and then the costly makeup days) because she chooses not to provide for herself. That is in essence a political story, and the whole reason it was posted, but sometimes an odd mod has a stick up his or her butt.
One can always check his collar for his rabies tag.
HOUSTON Ping
Seems to me there are more bat sitings lately in our surrounding area than I've ever heard of before.
May just be getting more press.
And there are over 250,000 bats near downtown Houston. I think that the city was trying to relocate them a short distance so they could make more money on tourists "seeing" the bats taking off at dusk over the current bridge they roost under on Allen-Parkway.
Yes, I was curious about whether he were actually bitten, and assume that they were just erring on the side of caution. Or maybe he had a green buzzcut and it was a cowbat?
:)
Roy D. Mercer would say...
"Bull-Butter!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.