Terrifying bat bite could kill
VICTORIANS have been urged not to touch bats after a Melbourne man was bitten by an animal infected with a virus that is 100 per cent fatal to humans if it takes hold.
The bat was carrying the Australian bat lyssavirus, which causes flu-like symptoms, paralysis, convulsions and death within two weeks of the symptoms starting.
The state’s deputy chief health officer, Dr Brett Sutton, warned the disease is fatal if a person who is scratched or bitten gets symptoms and is not treated with a vaccine after exposure.
He issued an urgent warning that injured animals should only be attended to by trained and vaccinated wildlife experts.
Fortunately, the Hawthorn resident who was tending to a distressed animal in April has received a vaccine for the virus, which is similar to rabies.
“Unfortunately, a man trying to assist a distressed animal was bitten,” Dr Sutton said.
“The bat was found to be carrying lyssavirus and the man has received a two-week course of rabies vaccine to prevent him developing the disease.”
Fewer than 1 per cent of healthy bats carry the virus and the disease is detected up to three times a year in Victoria, but no human cases have ever occurred in the state.
All three people infected in Queensland from a bat died from the disease.
On average, three people are treated with post-exposure treatment each week in Victoria after being bitten or scratched by a bat.
If anyone suspects lyssavirus disease in a bat, call the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning on 136 186 or the Emergency Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888. TORQUAY nurse Fiona Harrington knows what it is to lose a mother too soon.
It was the memory of her childhood without a mum that fuelled her fight against breast cancer when a diagnosis at age 34 threatened the same devastating reality for her children.
Ms Harrington, whose mum passed away from a brain tumour at age 39 when Ms Harrington was just 13, was breastfeeding her second bub when she discovered a lump.
“I had a two-year-old and an eight-month-old at home and found a lump and went on to get it checked and as it turned out there was about 42 tumours and the one that I could feel was about 10 by 5 centimetres,” she said.
Her personal experience with loss, and professional experience as a nurse, saw her tackle treatment with determination and courage.
“I know first-hand the rip- ple effect of losing your mum when you’re so young, and so I think that made me fight even harder, I’m was not leaving my children without their mum — it wasn’t negotiable,” she said.
“The cancer got a bit of a run-on, but I had six months of chemo, three months of radiation, mastectomy resection and I’m still here to tell the story.”
Now 37, Ms Harrington continues to contribute to the cause through her activism and volunteering as a test subject for ongoing breast cancer research.
This Sunday will be Ms Harrington’s first time participating in the 12th annual Geelong Mother’s Day Classic, an event that she dreams of bringing to Torquay in 2019.
The event, a fundraiser for breast cancer research, offers participants 3.9km and 7.3km walk and run courses on the Geelong Waterfront.
To register or donate visit mothersdayclassic. com. au/ events/event-map/geelong/