Bat rabies in alberta 1979-1982.

The infection rate among eight species of bats submitted for rabies diagnosis in Alberta during 1979-82 was 4.6%. Prevalence of rabies was greatest (24%) for hoary bats Lasiurus cinereus, while the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus was the species in which rabies was most commonly diagnosed, and the species submitted most frequently for rabies diagnosis was the little brown bat Myotis lucifugus. The rabies infection rate among male hoary bats was significantly greater than in either sex of all other submitted species. The frequency of rabies diagnosis in hoary bats submitted during 1979-82 was also significantly higher than in those submitted between 1971 and 1978. There has been a significant decrease in the rabies prevalence or infection rate of little brown bats since 1971-78.