ATHENS, Ga. — Some UGA students are getting rabies vaccine shots after being exposed to bats in their off campus apartments.
The students provided video and pictures of the bats, which can carry rabies, coronavirus and other potentially deadly diseases.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan spoke to the students, who say they are living in fear of being bitten.
Bats are so common in this area of Athens that they have bat roosts or boxes for shelter.
But instead of staying in a bat house, a few slipped into an off-campus apartment frightening some UGA students.
“I came to the realization it was a bat clinging to the bottom of my comforter,” student Amanda Nolan said.
Nolan and her roommates say spending time in their apartment is something they’ve come to dread because they’ve been living with a bat infestation.
They found the first creature in January, and then two more just in the last week.
“It was on the ground less than foot from me, it crept from under the fridge while I was making breakfast,” said Kate Minichiello.
“It was very jarring, and after we saw its paws, we confirmed it was a bat,” she added.
“A little bit later, I heard the sound of flapping wings, that’s when I really freaked out,” Claire Stockman said.
Sunday night, the girls decided to stay in a hotel after hearing what they thought was another bat.
The bats spotted earlier have been removed. But the students say they were not tested for rabies.
As a result, the Georgia Department of Health told them to get a series of painful rabies vaccine shots just in case they were infected by exposure to the bats.
“It’s been very difficult. It’s been a huge disruption,” Nolan said.
Minichiello had to get additional antibody shots in her hand, which may have been bitten by a bat while she was asleep.
“I had been injected four different ways in my hand. It’s the most painful thing I have honestly gone through,” she said.
The students want management at their apartment complex to reimburse them for motel costs for several nights out of concern over bat exposure.
They’re looking forward to the end of school.
“Maintenance needs to alert more people that they are removing bats because of how dangerous they are,” Stockman said.
Regan reached out to management The Mark apartments for comment on the bat problem and is awaiting a response.
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