1962/01/01 by Denny G. Constantine · 1 voice · 3 citations
Immunology and Microbiology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Rabies epidemiology and control #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
paper · doi:10.2307/4591470
openalex publication_date 1962/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/06
TWO PERSONS who entered Frio Cave, a large limestone cavern near Uvalde, Tex., where rabid bats had been identified, subsequently died of laboratory-confirmed rabies (.1,2). One death occurred in 1956, the other in 1958. Both men were reliable observers and early in their illness, while still conscious and alert, both denied knowledge of being bitten by bats or other mammals. These observations suggested the possibility of some nonbite mode of transmission of rabies, at lea.st under the atmospheric conditions in Frio Cave or caves similarly inhabited by millions of bats. In 1960 and 1961, three experiments were undertaken to test this hypothesis. Several varieties of wild carnivorous animals, including foxes, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, ringtails (cacomistles), and skunks, as well as domestic dogs and cats, were exposed in cages for periods of 7 to 30 days. Special efforts were made, particularly in the third experiment, to exclude all possibility of exposure to the bites of wild animals or of arthropods. In the first experiment, beginning July 8, 1960, 13 carnivores (2 domestic dogs, 2 domestic cats, 2 raccoons, 2 ringtails, 2 coyotes, 2 gray foxes, and 1 striped skunk), each confined separately in metal 1by 2-inch mesh cages, were placed in a bat-occupied room within Frio Cave. Previously the animals had been caged in isolation from 9 to 21 months, presumably ruling out incubation of the disease prior to exposure in the cave. Serums of all the animals collected before the experiment were negative for rabies