Volume 10, Number 5—May 2004
Dispatch
Bat Rabies, Texas, 1996–2000
Rodney E. Rohde*
, Bonny C. Mayes†, Jean S. Smith‡, and Susan U. Neill*§
, Bonny C. Mayes†, Jean S. Smith‡, and Susan U. Neill*§Table 1
Bat species submitted to the Texas Department of Health laboratory for rabies virus (RABV) testing (1996–2000)
| Species | Total no. received (1996–2000) | No. testing positive for RABV (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Antrozous pallidus (pallid bat) |
3 |
0 |
| Desmodus rotundus (vampire bat)a |
4 |
0 |
| Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) |
14 |
1 (7.1%) |
| Lasiurus borealis (eastern red bat) |
714 |
48 (6.7%) |
| L. cinereus (hoary bat) |
57 |
15 (26.3%) |
| L. ega (southern yellow bat) |
80 |
2 (2.5%) |
| L. intermedius (northern yellow bat) |
153 |
14 (9.2%) |
| Lasionycteris noctivagans (silver-haired bat) |
5 |
0 |
| Lasiurus seminolus (seminole bat) |
14 |
2 (14.3%) |
| Mormoops megalophylla (ghost-faced bat) |
1 |
0 |
| Myotis austroriparius (southeastern myotis) |
1 |
0 |
| M. californicus (California myotis) |
1 |
0 |
| M. ciliolabrum (western small-footed myotis) |
1 |
0 |
| M. thysanodes (fringed myotis) |
1 |
0 |
| M. velifer (cave myotis) |
172 |
4 (2.3%) |
| M. yumanensis (yuma myotis) |
1 |
0 |
| Nycticeius humeralis (evening bat) |
410 |
3 (0.7%) |
| Nyctinomops macrotis (big free-tailed bat) |
5 |
0 |
| Pipistrellus subflavus (eastern pipistrelle) |
40 |
0 |
| Tadarida brasiliensis (Brazilian free-tailed bat) |
2,062 |
338 (16.4%) |
| Fruit bats, not speciatedb |
2 |
0 |
| Juvenile yellow bats (L. ega or L. intermedius) |
65 |
0 |
| Lasiurus sp.c |
24 |
1 (4.2%) |
| Unable to identify speciesd |
159 |
6 (3.8%) |
| Total | 3,989 | 434 (11%) |
aVampire bats part of captive colony in zoo.
bAppear to be two different species.
cToo damaged to determine species; will probably fall within one of the above mentioned Lasiurus sp.
dExtremely damaged, decomposed, or immature.
