Posted on 11/19/2008 2:23:05 PM PST by JoeProBono
Lake Wales, FL (AHN) - A Florida boy was bitten on the finger by a rabid bat while trying to get his dog away from the animal.
The 12-year-old Lake Wales boy is receiving a series of shots to protect him from developing the fatal disease after the bat tested positive for rabies. Although human deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, many wild animals carry the disease, which can be transmitted to family pets and then to their human owners.
The bat was the sixth positive rabies case in Polk County this year. Nationally, there are about 7,000 cases of rabies every year, according to the CDC.
In the U.S. rabies is usually passed along through a bite by an infected wild animal such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, wolf, coyote, bobcat, ferret or fox, but about three quarters of rabies cases are from bats, CDC officials say.
What does Hillary have against dogs?
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