Do large bat populations lead to increased incidence of rabies transmission to humans?
The largest urban bat populations consist almost exclusively of colonial species, and there is no evidence linking them to increased transmission to humans. Tens of thousands of people have closely observed the emergence of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas each summer for over 16 years without incident. In fact, though Austin, San Antonio, and several other Texas Hill Country towns likely support the highest bat densities in America, they have recorded no human cases of bat-transmitted rabies.
The largest urban bat populations consist almost exclusively of colonial species, and there is no evidence linking them to increased transmission to humans. Tens of thousands of people have closely observed the emergences of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas each summer for over 16 years without incident. In fact, though Austin, San Antonio, and several other Texas Hill Country towns likely support the highest bat densities in America, they have recorded no human cases of bat-transmitted rabies.
