Rabies Schmabies

STEVENSVILLE - Upwards of 80 Stevensville Elementary School students may have to receive rabies vaccine shots after a parent brought an infected bat to school for show and tell.

The parent brought the dead bat to school Monday morning and allowed kindergarten and fifth grade students in her children’s classes to touch the animal after giving the group a short presentation, said Stevensville School Superintendent Kent Kultgen.

The woman, who reportedly works as a nurse in Missoula, offered the students a hand sanitizer after they handled the bat.

In total, there may be up to 100 people who may be at risk for the disease, said Dr. Carol Calderwood of the Ravalli County Health Department.

“Kids were apparently putting their fingers in the bat’s mouth,” Calderwood said.