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It's not that I don't think it's great of the CDC to provide brief tip sheets on medical issues for scriptwriters. I'm sure this will help prevent the spread of misinformation. But the suggested scenarios are pretty nasty.
The parents of a young child are awakened at night by strange noises in their child's bedroom. They find a bat behaving strangely: not hiding, making strange noises, having difficulty flying. The parents kill the bat and awaken the child. They find no evidence of a bite or scratch from the bat, and the child reports no contact with or bite from the bat. The father saves the bat in the freezer, "just in case." A few weeks later, the child becomes very ill, with fever and flu-like symptoms. The distraught parents rush the child to a nearby hospital emergency room where they are asked about contact with animals. The parents tell doctors about the bat; the doctors suspect rabies. After consultation with the state health department, the doctor seeing the child asks the parents to bring in the bat. It tests positive for rabies and the parents are told their child will not survive.
[via Libronaut DotGov]
Posted by Hilary at February 27, 2004 07:22 PM