Texas Teens Play Hacky Sack With Rabid Bat
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Comal County health officials were searching for two teenagers who were seen playing with a sick bat that tested positive for rabies.
The boys were using the bat instead of a bean bag in a game of hacky sack (search), in which players try to keep a bean bag off the ground by kicking it to each other, Comal County Health Department (search) nurse Karon Preiss said.
The teenagers ran away after a nurse saw them, told them to stop and called Animal Control officers. The bat tested positive for rabies at the Texas Department of Health laboratory.
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It was not known if the boys touched the bat with their bare hands or if they were bitten or scratched, the San Antonio Express-News reported Friday.
The rabies (search) virus affects the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals and can be transmitted through the saliva of infected animals.
Rabies can be prevented with a vaccine after initial exposure, but health officials can do little for victims once symptoms set in.
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The earliest symptoms often are tingling or numbness in the limb or area where there was a bite, followed by a lack of coordination, agitation, headache, hallucinations and seizures. Eventually, the patient goes into a coma and dies.