By David Beasley
ATLANTA, April 12 (Reuters) – A bat swooping around the
passenger cabin during a U.S. commercial airline flight last
August may have been unnerving for passengers, but there is no
evidence anyone was exposed to rabies, a federal health agency
said on Thursday.
The bat in question flew into the cabin of a Delta Airlines
flight from Madison, Wisconsin, to Atlanta that had 50
passengers and three crew members aboard, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said in report.
When the bat flew into the airplane lavatory, a passenger
closed the door, trapping it, CDC veterinarian Danielle Buttke
told Reuters. The pilots then returned to Madison and passengers
disembarked.
Maintenance crew members tried to capture the bat so it
could be tested for rabies, but it flew out of the lavatory when
the door was opened and then out the airplane’s cabin door. It
eventually left the airport terminal through automatic doors,
Buttke said.
Because the bat had not been tested for rabies, the CDC
interviewed 45 of the passengers and all three crew members.
None had any physical contact with the bat or exposure to its
saliva, the CDC said. Five passengers were never located for
interviews.
“I would say there is no evidence (of rabies exposure),”
Buttke said. But he added, “I don’t think we can be certain.”
She said that most of the passengers were “very good
natured” about the incident.
“As a whole, I was very impressed with everyone’s behavior
and how calm they were,” Buttke said, saying the flight’s delay
and possibly missed connections might have caused more passenger
ire.
In 2010, about 6 percent of bats captured for testing were
infected with rabies, the CDC said. A bat seen active during
daylight or in an area bats are not normally found, such as an
aircraft cabin, should be tested for rabies as a precaution.
