1,000 At Girl Scout Camp Possibly Exposed To Rabies
WRC-TV
2:32 p.m. EDT August 6, 2006LEESBURG, Va. – Loudoun County officials have notified the parents of nearly 1,000 girls in the Washington region that the youngsters may have been exposed to the rabies virus at a Girl Scout camp, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The officials told parents they should consider getting a month-long series of protective vaccinations — the largest proactive rabies outreach effort ever conducted in the United States, federal authorities told the Post.
There is a small chance that any of the girls has been infected with rabies from bats, found sharing the girls’ sleeping shelters at Camp Potomac Woods near Leesburg, officials told the Post. All five bats tested so far were negative for the disease.
About 1 percent of bats carries rabies and can bite children in their sleep without waking them. The disease, once symptoms appear, is incurable.
So authorities have urged parents to question their children about whether the shelters they slept in were among those inhabited by bats, and what kind of contact they might have had, the Post reported.
At least 14 girls have begun the series of shots, local officials said, including all of the children so far notified who were deemed most likely to have had contact with a bat.
But the parents of about 400 children, including a handful of girls who officials believe slept in shelters with bats, have not responded to initial outreach efforts and are slated for aggressive telephone queries this week.
“We think the risk is extremely small, but we can’t say there is no risk,” said Loudoun County Health Department Director David Goodfriend.
Goodfriend said that several young Americans in the past decade, including a 10-year-old boy from Mississippi last year and a Texas teenager in May, died of rabies after exposure to bats without being aware they had been scratched or bitten.
The rabies vaccination regimen is simpler and less painful than it used to be, consisting of six to nine shots given over a month, but the decision is still agonizing for many parents, the Post noted.
Still, officials said, a child may suffer trauma from the regimen, and the cost can range to $2,000 (in the Loudoun case, all costs are being covered by the Girl Scouts). There is also a risk of mostly minor complications from the vaccine.
If a child has been infected, officials said, the virus may quietly invade a victim’s nerves for weeks or even months, eventually reaching the brain, where it suddenly causes swelling, coma and death.
Yes, my daughter attended this camp during the dates in question. Yes, she saw a few bats. Yes, she witnessed a bat in her cabin – twice. Yes, she woke up to a bat in her cabin. Yes, she used the required mosquito netting every night and swears that a bat never touched her. Yes, she did jump from bed and run out of that cabin when the bat was present.
Yes, we will be in the ER later this afternoon getting her first shot in the rabies vaccine series.
No, she will not be allowed to go to any camp again ever. Or outside for that matter.
I need a bubble for my red head. Make that two…
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That is awful…just awful! I’m so sorry you and your daughter are going through this. Uh, hello? Do they CHECK the cabins out before they let little girls sleep in them? You would think they’d find something like that!
Good grief. They don’t check the dang cabins? What is wrong with those people? Also, exposure to bat feces can cause more health damage than the possibilty of a bite – seriously, ask about that.
Oh NOOOO!!! I am so sorry! As I was reading the story I was thinking you’d have some smart mammarazzi ending. Then I read your wrap-up. Oh. the. absolute. horror.. I can not agree more with the above 2 comments about the need to check the freaking cabins before the sweet gals went to bed???
Geez, I hope she’s okay.
I saw this story in the paper over the weekend, and as soon as I saw the title on your post I KNEW WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY.
Un-fucking-believable. Also, is there any way you can have the rest of the series done at the pediatrician’s office instead of the ER, which is so damned stressful?
My sympathies and lots of hugs to you and that cute redhead.
OMG! You send your kid to camp for an experience they will remember forever. This is so not the memory you wanted….
How is she handling this? You need Tequila, should I send you some?
OMG! I’m so sorry, she actually has to get the shots. You always hear about animals being quarantined and then not having it. but in this case, it’s better to take the precaution of course.
How awful!
That is ridiculous, they didn’t clean the cabins or check for bats? Eeeew!
You poor things, both of you!
There was a rabid bat (it tested positive) found dead in a popular park here. They put out a bulletin on the News for a week because, of course, witnesses said they had seen people poking at it or touching it. Idiots.
Holy Poop!!!!! Oh my gosh. I am so totally freaking for you.
Good luck on those vaccines!
Good God!
Sorry to hear about this. I hope the vacinations go well and don’t disrupt your daughters life too much.
That just sucks! Your poor daughter. Good for you for getting her the shots just to be safe!
I’m so sorry. You must be worried sick. I hope she doesn’t find the shots too awful.
I still don’t get how a bat can bite and you don’t feel it????
The whole story sounds horrible to me….I feel for you both. It will only make your daughter stronger and build character.
What’s next? Accidental contamination of thin mints?
OMG! Being a nurse. Get her vacinated! She might never have felt it. rabies is just awful, totally awful.
I am so sorry your little one has to go through this, trust me it’s way better then the alternative.
What the Heck was the camp thinking? They must of known they were there???????? OMG!!!!!!!!! I’d be MAJOR pissed off! Major! Course we have a lot of bats around where we live so we know the dangers. But you’d think those camp officals would know!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I feel like taking em on, how stupid! Makes me furious all these children have to go through this because some STUPID ADULTS didn’t do there job!
Sorry. I just know how painful those shots can be, and it’s awful, just awful these children have to go through this. Somebody should be held accountable~!
Okay I’m done ranting. I’ll pray your daughter flys through treatment easily.
I am so sorry to hear it. And so shocked that it occurred at all. Why didn’t they send the girls home if they couldn’t care for them safely? I hope it is not too much of an upheval in your daughter’s life, or yours.
oh man. The poor girl. Bats in the cabins? Yipes, she’s a brave one…I would’ve been packing my bags. Wishing her (and you) pain free shots.
We’re in the midst of a EEE mosquito thing in my town. Not fun at all.
OMG!! I have had two friends in the last month find bats in their homes! What the hell?
I just read about that. Bats scare me, I’m sorry your little one was involved. Hope all is well….
Yikes! :shocked: I am so so sorry….This is terrible news.
_ (”
Š from da Raggedy one
I am glad that they are being aggressive and not taking the
situation lightly..
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I am so sorry your daughter has to got through the shots but I would do the same. Better safe than sorry…
Sheesh if they new the bats were there then why not warn everyone ahead of time….grrrrrrrrrrr
Take care hun!
*^_^
(=’:'=) hugs
(”
Oh.My.God. That totally sucks SO BAD! I am so upset for you. I can’t imagine how upset you are. Your poor little girlie…shots suck. See…this is why I haven’t cut the cord on my kids, people say I’m overprotected, I say…with good reason. You wanna borrow my bubble for a while??? Sending good thoughts and hugs!
That article has so many twist and turns.
First I was like “Oh my god!”
Then “Oh, it’s not that bad”
To “Oh my god!”
Finally “Oh my god. Let me read down further to see if there is a reason she is posting this. OMG, there is!”
Good luck. I’m sure you’re baby beat the odds.
OMG. That is so awful! I can’t believe they don’t move those out of the way. Hello? Exterminator? Yeah. I’m so sorry for your daughter! That’s not a fun vaccine series.
Glad you are going to get the shots. Love ya
:rant: grumble grumble snort. Geez, I can’t tell you how angry I am on your behalf. As if sending a kid to camp isn’t scary enough when you think it’s safe and fun, but to then know that something as preventable as this happened… :rant: grrrrr. Hug that girl, and treat her to ice cream or something after every dang shot. Yourself too!
How scary!! I’m glad you can get the shots quickly!!
OMG how scary! {{hugs}}
Too many things to worry about by going outside. Rabies and lyme. Poor little red head. Smart to start the shots. I had a story about lyme but am not going to freak you out further. Save that for a later date… Nice way to return from vacation.
OMG – how scary for you! (and her too!!) We are having a lot of rabid bat reports here in Houston too and have quit walking in the evening because of it.
Oh no! I read that article earlier this week. I can’t believe it’s affecting dear, sweet you and your dear, sweet daughter!
I am speachless that this could happen! Sending hugs to her.
Let me play the devil’s advocate.
People! Deep breaths! Life is a big dangerous place. Being outdoors is dangerous. Being indoors is dangerous. Life is scary. Parenthood is scary.
There is a super tiny fraction of a chance these kids were actually exposed to rabies. Yes, get them shots, whatever. I don’t know if I am more blase from growing up in a major rattlesnake zone…you just encountered the threat and dealt with it.
It just wasn’t a major lapse on the account of the girl scouts IMO because keeping bats out of indoor/outdoor buildings might be tough with little girls coming and going and leaving doors and windows open…
As far as exterminating bats…bats eat mosquitoes. Mosquitoes carry all kinds of diseases, including west nile and malaria. Don’t kill the bats.
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