The death of a child in Canada due to rabies is a heartbreaking tragedy. This case highlights how important it is to take any direct contact with a bat seriously, even when there are no obvious bite or scratch wounds. Both the public as well as healthcare professionals need to be adequately informed and aware of this. Prompt post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent the disease from developing if administered in time. Precisely because rabies is such a serious disease, it i

„Bats rarely get sick" Bats seem to have an immune system that allows them to host many viruses without becoming seriously ill or showing...

„Bats sleep upside down” Bats hang upside down. Their feet are pointed backwards and their toes automatically clasp under their weight,...

„A bat can eat up to ⅓ of its body weight in insects per night, which can be several thousand insects.” Austria’s native bat species are...

„Bats see with their ears” Our native bats are able to hunt and orientate themselves using ultrasonic echolocation. They produce...

Bats and flying foxes are the only mammals that can actively fly. The oldest bat fossils are around 50 million years old, distributed...