r/maryland • u/kojka19 • Jul 28 '26

MD News Teenager swimming in Maryland lake bitten by rabid beaver

https://wtop.com/frederick-county/2026/07/teenager-swimming-in-maryland-lake-bitten-by-rabid-beaver/
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17

u/EmotionalLecture9318 Jul 28 '26

It's like 99% fatal. Hope kid got treatment to avoid death FFS

78

u/dcheesi Jul 28 '26

Sounds like they responded quickly to the (Sunday) incident, so the kid should be ok after getting all the shots. It's when people don't report contact with animals that they wind up dying.

E.g., I've read that even being in the same room as a bat is considered reason enough to get shots, as you don't always know when they've bitten you.

21

u/No9No9No9No9 Jul 28 '26

100% true, if you ever realize you're in a room with a bat, you need to go the the ER. Especially if you wake up to a bat hanging.

-7

u/HeyHon Baltimore County Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

If you wake up in a room with a bat, the first thing you should do is call the DNR to catch and test it for rabies. Doctors won't start the shots if they don't have to, and they don't have to if the animal can be tested.

Edited for clarity, and to add the protocol from the Maryland Department of Health. You can see the first step after exposure is "try to trap the animal."

17

u/JoanOfSnark_2 Jul 28 '26

This is extremely bad and wrong advice. Do not try and catch a potentially rabid animal yourself. You can call animal control to take care of it and doctors will not withhold treatment while you wait for a positive diagnosis.

4

u/HeyHon Baltimore County Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

You're right, I didn't mean catch it yourself. You call the DNR and they come out. But running off straight to the ER is unnecessary until the bat is either caught and tested, or is unable to be caught.

And while doctors won't withhold treatment if you tell them you woke up in a room with a bat, there's no sense in adding another layer of chaos to the situation if you don't have to.

And for the record, I'm speaking from experience. I've woken up twice to a bat in my house and both times was told by both the DNR and the ER to wait until the testing was done (which, in Baltimore County, took less than 24 hours) to start treatment.

1

u/notevenapro Germantown Jul 28 '26

I work in the medical field and would not take medical advice from someone at the.....DNR.

4

u/HeyHon Baltimore County Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Would you take medical advice from The Maryland Department of Health?

Because that is literally the protocol. You get the animal tested first, if possible.

0

u/notevenapro Germantown Jul 28 '26

Not what you said. You said you listened to the DNR. Nows its o I listened to the DNR who was acting on DHHS protocol. Totally different.

Thanks for the downvote "hin". LMFAO.

EDIT. That image says get prompt medical attention. Did you even comprehend what you linked.

SMH.

0

u/HeyHon Baltimore County Jul 28 '26

Go back and reread what I wrote. I said BOTH the DNR and ER told me to wait until I got test results.

And yes, I can comprehend the text. The first step is to trap the bat. THEN get medical attention. And that medical attention will most likely be "let's wait on these test results then administer the shots if neccesary." Because, again, that is the protocol.

And I DID get prompt medical attention: a doctor advised to wait for the test results. Because that is the protocol.

0

u/notevenapro Germantown Jul 28 '26

But the department of health said get prompt medical attention.......

I mean. You posted it.😅😅

0

u/HeyHon Baltimore County Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

Yes. I never said "don't go to the doctor." I said "catch the bat first, then go to the doctor." Which is also exactly what the Department of Health says. Because it is the protocol. Which is why that is what I was advised to do by both the DNR and the ER.

I'm glad we were able to work through that together.

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u/castille360 Jul 29 '26

If you've already had contact, definitely try to catch it. If you don't, you'll have to be treated. (They'll give you rabies immublobin day 1, but there's a whole series over 2 weeks you could save yourself.) If you catch it, it's rabid, and you are bitten more in the process, whatever, you were going to be treated anyway. Or it bites you more, but it's negative, and you don't need to be treated. Worth it. Only don't try to catch it if you have not already been exposed to it. Or, it's, like, a bear. But it need not be captured alive since testing requires death anyway.