95 girls notified they may have been exposed to rabies

Health officials say 95 girls who stayed upstairs in a cabin at the Flathead Methodist Camp may have been exposed to rabies from a bat.

Jim Murphy, health specialist with the Department of Public Health and Human Services, said a bat was found in the "Butte Cabin" where the girls had slept.

He said the bat had obviously been sick but the carcass was unsuitable for testing for rabies.

"It was either too old, got too warm or dried up," he said.

Murphy said the bat was found and submitted for testing by someone staying at the camp. He said he didn't know if camp officials were involved in that initial contact.

"That's what started the investigation," he said.

According to Murphy, none of the girls was known to have had contact with the bat. Also, it is unknown if the bat died of rabies or another cause.

But since bats carry rabies, state and local health officials followed national recommendations to assemble a list of girls who slept in the cabin and notify their parents of possible exposure.

"We're worried about this season," Murphy said. "Conceivably, it [the bat] placed these people at risk."

According to Murphy, camp officials have fully cooperated with the health department in supplying the names of girls who had a potential exposure.

"I think everyone is trying to do the right thing here," Murphy said.

He said state and local health officials began contacting parents this week. The 95 campers came to the camp from 18 different Montana counties and a handful of other states.

Murphy said public health staff inform parents of the exposure and risks but leave it up to them and their health-care provider to decide whether to seek treatment.

He said parents had a variety of responses to the news of their child's potential exposure to rabies.

"When you deliver bad news, people are shocked and unhappy," he said. "The responses are all over the map."

Lynn Kauf, a summer Lakeside resident, was one of the parents contacted. She was upset that notification came only from the health department.

"Finally, I got a call back from Jen Burch (of Flathead Methodist Camp) and she was very uncaring," Kauf said.

Burch, manager of the Methodist camp, was contacted by the Inter Lake but said she could not comment before speaking with the board chairman.

Contacted later on Friday, she said the board chairman was out of town and that she was waiting to hear back from the camp's attorney before commenting.

"We are fully cooperating with the health department," Burch said.

Another parent, Tracy McGibben, said she had a similar experience with Burch. She said a county health official had to look up her phone number because the camp had not provided it.

McGibben said that she had filled out forms for the camp listing all of her phone numbers and other emergency contact information.

"What about the parents who have unlisted phone numbers?" she asked. "With rabies, time is of the essence."

However, Burch said Friday that she had provided all the information requested by the health department.

McGibben was taking her 11-year-old daughter for her first of the rabies immunization series on Friday. She was angry that the camp had not yet stepped up to pay for the treatment, which costs $1,500.

She said she was grateful that she had insurance but asked what parents would do who didn't have insurance or the money to pay for treatment.

McGibben faxed the Inter Lake a copy of a letter she received from Brigid O'Connor, a nurse with the Lake County Health Department.

The letter said it was brought to their attention that bats were observed on repeated nights flying inside the upstairs of Butte Cabin at Flathead Methodist Camp.

"We have ordered that Butte Cabin be closed to campers until improvements have been made to reduce the risk of exposure," O'Connor said in the letter.

She went on the say the risk of contracting rabies was small but said to keep four factors in mind:

. Three bats have tested positive for rabies in Flathead, Mineral and Missoula Counties in recent months.

. Bats are the animal most commonly responsible for spreading rabies to humans in Montana.

. Two persons in Montana died in the late 90's from a bat strain of rabies and they had no known exposure to bats.

. And once symptoms appear in a human, the illness is fatal.

Murphy said the incubation period of rabies was not well defined. He said as much as a year can pass between the time of exposure and the first symptoms.

"Even a year or so later, it's not too late to start the vaccine if you had exposure," he said.

However, people should seek treatment as soon as possible because symptoms may occur after two weeks or less. Murphy said only a handful of people have survived after exhibiting rabies symptoms.

"We felt the health department had an obligation to notify the parents," he said.

According to Murphy, the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control came as a result of case in Washington state in which a four-year-old girl woke up with a bat in her room.

The family buried the dead bat then had the child checked from head to toe for any sign of a bite or a scratch from the bat. None was found so the series of expensive immunizations was not given.

"That little girl died," he said.

When the Washington bat was exhumed, it tested positive for rabies.

Murphy said that Flathead Methodist Camp has cooperated in closing the Butte Cabin while making repairs to keep bats out of the building. Lake County health officials will re-inspect the cabin before it re-opens.

He acknowledged that it is no easy task to exclude bats. They can enter cracks as small as one-quarter by one-half inch.

"Bats are crafty little things," Murphy said.

Recommendations for bat-proofing buildings include using window screens, chimney caps and draft guards beneath doors to attics. Fill electrical and plumbing holes with stainless steel wool or caulking.

Observe where bats exit at dusk and exclude them by handing clear plastic sheeting or birdnetting over those areas. Bats can crawl out and leave but cannot re-enter.

However, experts recommend waiting until after August before bat-proofing because young bats may get trapped inside where they may die or make their way into living quarters.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com