1. Bats

2. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Lyssavirus
2-May-19
Coffs Hrbour Divisional training

3. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Lyssavirus
In 1996, a new virus was discovered in Australian bats - identified as a lyssavirus,
The new virus is a close relative to the common rabies virus found overseas.
Research shows that some, but not all, infected bats have the virus in their saliva or salivary glands
2-May-19
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4. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
History
In May 1996 a black flying fox showing nervous signs was found near Ballina.
Samples were sent to a Veterinary Laboratory in QLD for the Hendra virus.
A fixed-tissue brain sample was also sent to Australian Animal Health Laboratory in VIC.
2-May-19
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5. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
History
The Hendra virus tests were negative, but the sample tested positive for rabies.
Isolation and gene sequencing showed that it was a lyssavirus, which is closely related to common rabies.
Australia's rabies-free status has not changed as a result of the Australian bat lyssavirus discovery.
2-May-19
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6. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Case study November 1996
A Queensland woman who had become a bat handler, became ill.
She initially suffered numbness and weakness in her arm which progressed to coma and death.
Samples confirmed that she had been infected with lyssavirus.
2-May-19
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7. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Case study December 1998
A woman from Mackay in North Queensland was also diagnosed with the disease and later died.
She had been bitten by a bat more than two years earlier, before the infection was first identified in humans and before information about vaccination and bat handling precautions were circulated.
2-May-19
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8. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Case study January 2010
Three men received medical treatment after being bitten by a bat in central Queensland near Gladstone.
In each case, the bat swooped from a tree and bit the men on the head.
They may not necessarily have been infected but certainly there's a reasonable risk that they have been.
2-May-19
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9. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
First Aid Management
Australian health authorities suggest lyssavirus poses a low public health risk.
However they strongly recommend that anyone scratched or bitten by a bat should immediately wash the affected area with soap and water and contact their local doctor.
2-May-19
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10. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Pets
Health authorities advise that the risk of infection for pets bitten or exposed to a bat is very low.
The risk of transmission of bat lyssavirus from a dog or cat to a person is very low, although there is theoretical risk of transmission.
2-May-19
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11. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Pre-Exposure
Research at the United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows the vaccine for classical rabies can protect against lyssavirus. 
A pre-exposure course of rabies vaccine should be taken by high-risk category people, such as: bat carers, vets and wildlife officers
2-May-19
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12. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Post Exposure
There is also a post-exposure treatment course for people bitten or scratched by a bat which is suspected of being infected
Antibodies are delivered at the site where the virus may have been introduced by the bite, and then there's a series of five vaccinations that are given over the following month.
2-May-19
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13. Coffs Hrbour Divisional training
Post Exposure
The treatment prevents the virus from travelling up and into the brain.
2-May-19
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14. Coffs Harbour Divisional Training
Questions
2 May 2019
Coffs Harbour Divisional Training