Vaccination of dogs and cats in the 1950s really changed the face of rabies in the United States. Now, the vast majority of rabies cases are diagnosed in wild animals. Of the wild animal species that are commonly found to have rabies, bats emerged somewhat unexpectedly as the primary source of human rabies infections acquired in the U.S., and they are now the most frequently tested wild animal species.
because their communities are so diverse, both taxonomically and ecologically. For example, if you pick two random bats flying around at night, one might live as a solitary individual and migrate thousands of kilometers every year and the second might live in a colony of tens of thousands and hibernate within a few miles of where you caught it. These differences could have profound effects on disease transmission, but there are few systems where it would be possible to study them because most single taxonomic groups lack the diversity that is present within bats. After working with South American bats, I have gained an even broader perspective on bats, especially their critical functions in ecosystems for seed dispersal, pollination and insect control.� Mere coincidence? You be the judge. Streicker is originally from Richmond, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate. (Note to reader: Famously gothic writer Edgar Allen Poe also attended UVA.) The Graduate School Magazine recently posed some burning questions to Streicker.
Graduate School Magazine: “Rabies� is one of those emotionally loaded words. It evokes terrifying scenes like the (fictional) one in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus Finch is forced to shoot a rabid dog. In the South, rabies is synonymous with "mad dogs." However, your research looked at bats, specifically cross-transmission. Why bats? Streicker: Vaccination of dogs and cats in the 1950s really changed the face of rabies in the United States. Now, the vast majority of rabies cases are diagnosed in wild animals. Of the wild animal species that are commonly found to have rabies, bats emerged somewhat unexpectedly as the primary source of human rabies infections acquired in the U.S., and they are now the most frequently tested wild animal species. It is also important to note that bats have been associated in recent years with the emergence of several other deadly human viruses, including SARS and Ebola; but studies of the transmission of viruses or any other infectious diseases within bat communities are few. The public health importance of bat rabies and the existence of an efficient surveillance network comprised of state and local public health
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