Are Bats Born With Rabies?

Bats just might be one of the most misunderstood animals in existence today. In fact, many of the things you think you probably know about bats are probably not true. For instance, did you know that contrary to popular belief bats are not aggressive animals? Nor do they intentionally try to attack people or get tangled in your hair. Just as these facts about bats are nothing more than hearsay, folklore, myths, or rumors, so is the so called “fact” that all bats carry rabies. This could not be further from the truth.

Technically, less than half or 1% of bats are actually infected with the virus. In addition, bats are rarely ever aggressive as they are shy creatures and are probably even more scared of you than you are of them. Most bats that contract the rabies virus will actually die very shortly after and fewer than 40 people in the United States are known to have contracted rabies from bats during the past 40 something years. It is possible for a bat to be born with rabies if either its mother or father has the virus, but again, the chances of this are very unlikely.