A rare bat virus is feared to have resurfaced in Australia, with a grandmother displaying symptoms after she was bitten by the animal while holidaying interstate.
Lyssavirus is a rare but deadly virus that can be transmitted to humans from an infected bat through bites or scratches, or by being exposed to the animal’s saliva.
The virus often presents itself early on through flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever and fatigue before rapidly progressing to paralysis, delirium and convulsions – and within a week or two, death.
Only three cases of human infection with Rabies virus and Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) have been recorded since the virus was first identified in 1996.
Sandi Galloway, from Geelong, was enjoying a trip to Cairns with her husband Gordon when she was attacked by the bat
All three cases were in Queensland and the virus has a 100 per cent mortality rate in Australia.
There is a wide variability in the time it takes for symptoms to appear following exposure to an infected animal, with previous cases ranging from several days to several years.
Geelong grandmother Sandi Galloway was holidaying in Cairns when she was bitten on the head by a wild bat whilst walking back to her hotel room with her partner.
The bite has left the 67-year-old feeling sore and her forehead has been itchy and bright red since.
‘I could feel it flying around my head,’ she explained.
‘I thought it was trying to land on my hair. I swiped my hand to try to deter and the bloody thing nipped me twice on the forehead.’
The bite has left Mrs Galloway feeling sore and her forehead has been itchy and bright red since
‘Next thing, I felt this sting, like two pinpricks on my forehead,’ she told the Cairns Post.
Ms Galloway said apart from a lack of appetite and fatigue, she didn’t think about the bite until the flight home.
‘I didn’t want to look stupid going to a doctor about the bite because I thought this doesn’t happen in real life,’ she said.
‘Then I told my daughter and she told me I could get rabies from it and could die so I made an appointment with my GP.’
Ms Galloway was later tested for the potentially fatal lyssavirus, displaying symptoms such as headache, fever and fatigue.
While still awaiting her results, the grandmother believes it’s likely she has the virus due to her symptoms.
She has received five injections on Wednesday and will need three more rounds over the next three weeks.
Mrs Galloway, who is partially blind, said at first she did not even realise it was a bat that had attacked her.
‘I kept telling myself it was probably a spider because, even though a part of me knew it, I didn’t want to believe a bat had bitten me,’ she said.
She believes the bats should be relocated outside the city centre.
‘Having them in the middle of town is ridiculous. I find it abhorrent this happened while on holidays when I should’ve been enjoying myself, but instead stayed indoors afterwards for fear of it happening again,’ she said.
‘It would be the best thing for Cairns to remove the bats from the city and relocate them to an area that’s not so crowded.’
Only three people have contracted lyssavirus since 1996 – all through bat bites or scratches – and all three victims died
Cairns Regional Council has previously successfully moved populations of flying foxes out of busy CBD locations.
‘Council’s Flying-Fox Colony Management General Policy outlines a multi-faceted and balanced approach to managing flying-foxes which uses scientific advice and data to determine appropriate actions,’ a council spokesman said.
‘The policy maintains that the health and wellbeing of people is to be given primary consideration over the health and wellbeing of flying foxes, where there is conflict between the two.
‘This is a very rare yet alarming incident, however, if council is made aware of a significant flying-fox roost that may cause conflict between the people and flying foxes, signage will be posted around the site to make the community aware.’
