Sick bat in cabin spurs rabies scare for 96 girls

KALISPELL, Mont. – A sick bat found in a cabin at the Flathead Methodist Camp near Rollins, Mont., led state health officials to tell the parents of 96 girls who stayed in that cabin this summer they should consider giving their children rabies shots.

The bat, found in the Butte Cabin in July, did not arrive at the state lab in Bozeman in good enough condition to do a valid test, said Jim Murphy, health specialist with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.

However, because three bats in western Montana have tested positive for rabies this year, and people can be unaware of being scratched or bitten by bats in their sleep, the campers were told of the possible risk.

Rabies, a virus that infects the central nervous system, is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. Two people in Montana died of rabies in the late 1990s and they had no known exposure to bats, health officials said in a letter to parents.

“What we had here was a duty to warm people, to give them the evidence so they can make an informed choice,” Murphy said. “That doesn’t mean it’s an easy choice.”

Murphy said the children that slept in a loft area in the upstairs of the cabin are most at risk.

Tracy McGibben of Darby took her 11-year-old daughter, Colleen, for her first shot on Friday.

“It’s a series of shots over 28 days. They cost $1,500,” McGibben said.

She said she was angry the camp hadn’t offered to pay for the treatment.

Camp officials declined comment, other than to say they were cooperating with the health department.