By Bruce Fegen

A FIFE teenager bitten by a bat while on a camping trip with friends is facing an anxious wait to see if he has caught rabies.

Dale Gill (15), from Kirkcaldy, is receiving vaccinations and is under medical supervision amid fears he could develop the disease.

Dale, a pupil at St Andrews High School, was camping with friends in woods at Dysart last week.

The teenager had gone for a walk at night when something flapped in his face. He attempted to beat it off and felt a pain in his right arm, but did not think anything of it and did not go home until the next day.

When he told his mother Frances what had happened she urged him to go to the doctor.

The teenager’s GP told him to go straight to hospital and he was kept in overnight so doctors could monitor him while a vaccination arrived from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

He was due to get another vaccination yesterday and will have another 12 days from now.

Frances said yesterday, “I am very worried because the doctors are taking this very seriously.

“Dale didn’t say anything at first when he came home from camping, but when I saw the mark in his arm I was concerned and got him to go to the doctor.

“It’s a very worrying time for us. The doctors say that Dale is at risk of rabies and it’s very important that he has all the injections in case he gets sick. We don’t know when he will get the all clear.”

Deaths from bat bites are exceedingly rare and there have only been three confirmed cases in Europe in the last 30 years, the most recent being that of Angus artist and naturalist David McRae in 2002.

It is thought he had been bitten by a Daubenton’s bat, which are known to carry a rabies virus called European bat lyssavirus, which differs from classical rabies.

However, very few such bats have been found with the live virus in Britain in the last decade.

Anne Youngman, Scottish officer for the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT), said that Daubenton’s was the third most common species of bat in Scotland.

“No Daubenton’s bat with the live virus has been found here. There have been some found with antibodies, indicating that they may have come into contact with rabies or something similar in the past, but a bite from one of these would not cause the disease—the bat would have to be secreting the live virus.”

She added that very few people other than bat workers, who are now routinely inoculated, were ever bitten.

“This has been a poor summer for bats, and with mothers abandoning their babies people may come across them more often.

“Never use bare hands to pick one up, always use thick gloves, or a towel or something similar, and for advice on what to do call the BCT helpline on 0845 1300 228.

“If you do get bitten, wash the wound with soapy water—use some alcohol or iodine if you have it as well—and seek medical attention.”