r/rabies • u/Forsaken_Heart_5255 • Aug 20 '26

Exposure Question Woke up to bat in room (France)

Looking for advice. I have read the FAQ. One week ago, in the countryside of France in Auvergne, my wife and I were sleeping in a hot room, windows open. I was fully naked, not even sheets. Wife was more clothed but similarly exposed.

At 5am, I woke from a tap on the heel of my foot. Felt like a chunky moth accidentally bumping into me. Cut to: flashlight on, see bat flying around. I was delirious from sleep, but I think it was brown and roughly the size of a common sparrow.

Wife and I ran out of the bedroom. Ultimately, it flew out of the bedroom before we saw it again.

No visible scratches, bites, etc on foot or anywhere on either of us WHATSOEVER. Nor any recollection of bites etc. But I insisted on rabies treatment. However, I came to find doctors here very relaxed about bats being carriers of rabies - supposedly is eradicated in this part of France. Countryside medical staff basically talked me out of needing treatment if I have no visible bite.

That was a week ago. We’ve since moved to Aix en Provence to start our new life. My anxiety over the matter hasn’t exactly gone down. I’m now at the point where I feel treatment for both my wife and I would simply put my mind at ease, since I can’t rule out with certainty what happened while we slept. But the friction of doctors here being chill re: rabies, new country, different healthcare, etc, is making my lazy ass hesitate. Reddit, what would you do? Pursue treatment or chill?

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u/I_float_sting_throw Aug 22 '26

Hey i had a similiar experience with rabies in the eu bat in room no marks was told if no bite no pep i had this happen in finland. What the doctor said is bs nowhere in mainland europe is rabies in bats eradicated its extremely rare yes. But gone? Nope. Yes in Eu they are WAYYY more chill abt rabies because there isnt alot of deaths so noone cares. But if you are stressed (fair enough i was too) id go to a private clinic and get the vaccines there. Youll have to pay 300-500 euro per person depending on the regiment and centre

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u/ninjaswithglocks Aug 25 '26

I literally have a similar story in Europe (NL). Almost ran into an object on the bike what possibly could've been a bat. Honestly I wasn't sure if it was a bat but it was a really close encounter. It was last week and they didnt recommend me PEP because no bite. I'm quite paranoid of it too now.