you see any sign because there is no way to tell unless you can capture the bat and test the bat for rabies. trace: remember the stories of rabies vaccination, is it still like that, still very painful guest: you get it in the muscle and the legs and amendments and six shots, two specialized white cell killer that kill the virus, and then vaccine so it is much less painful, and not an emergency to run and get it you can wait a week and have the animal tested or watched and you do not have to kill the dog you can observe the animal. and a u.s. soldier, a very sad case, in afghanistan, was breaking up a dog fight and bitten and died in the united states when he came back home a few months later. trace: dr. garner, happy new year. guest: nice to see you, trace. trace: as if you needed a reason not to go through the
trace: doctors in massachusetts reporting the first case of rabies caught in that state in 76 years, a man is now in critical condition and it is likely a bat bit him in his home. rabies is now a very rare disease but almost always kills. in fact, this is just the sixth case this year in the united states. and the five other victims all died. doctors say most people get treatment after getting bitten. but, massachusetts officials say the patient probably did not know the bat had even bitten him. with us now is doctor garner, the chairman of radiology at new york methodist hospital. doctor, i was surprised by this because i thought that rabies was kind of like polio and we had eradicated it. guest: vaccinating dogs we have done a good job but some