Overview

Bats are clean and sociable animals which spend many hours grooming themselves. Although some share buildings with humans, there are minimal health risks associated with bats living in your property.

Some bats in the UK carry rabies viruses called European Bat Lyssavirus (EBLV). EBLVs are not the classical rabies virus which is usually associated with dogs; classical rabies has never been recorded in a native European bat species. Rabies caused by infection with an EBLV has only been associated with one human case in the UK. The risk is small and as EBLVs are transmitted via a bite or scratch there is no risk to you if you do not touch a bat. More information about bat contacts and rabies can be found on the bat contact and rabies risks leaflet produced by UKHSA.

There are no other known zoonotic diseases associated with bat populations in the UK.

These pages discuss bats and disease in a human health context. There are however some diseases that are affecting the bats themselves with dramatic effects. For more information see our white-nose syndrome pages.