The Wyoming Department of Health is tracking down visitors from 38 states and seven countries after hundreds of people were potentially exposed to rabies at a hotel in Grand Teton National Park. Hotel employees are also being contacted, though are believed to be less at risk than those who slept in the rooms.
At least 200 guests who stayed at Jackson Lake Lodge from May 15 to July 27 may have been exposed to a suspected bat colony at the hotel.
A block of the cottage-style hotel rooms — rooms 516, 518, 520, 522, 524, 526, 528 and 530 — are thought to have bats living in the attic space above.
After eight reported run-ins with bats since June, the lodge closed the eight rooms July 27.
Based on those reports, it’s unlikely that one bat has entered the same space multiple times, said Travis Riddell, director of Teton County Public Health Department. That raises the possibility of multiple bats residing above the rooms, usually in the form of a colony.
“Although there were a lot of people exposed in this incident, one positive about it is that we know who 100% of those people are,” Riddell said. “People in the community in general don’t need to be concerned about this particular incident.”
If not treated immediately, rabies has a bad prognosis. The disease is almost always fatal without treatment, according to State Health Officer Alexia Harrist.
“What we’re really concerned about is certainly people who have had actual physical contact with bats because the way that rabies is spread is through the bat’s saliva,” Harrist said. “Either through a bite or a scratch.”
Bats are the area’s most common host for rabies and their bite leaves such a small mark that it is rarely visible.
Harrist said anyone who stayed in those rooms should be contacted by their local or state health department to help determine next steps, such as whether to start the costly vaccine process.
Rabies vaccines come in a series and costs vary person-to-person. That range extends upwards of $16,000, according to the Jackson Hole News&Guide, but other regional hospitals can charge twice that.
Not everyone who stayed in those rooms will need the post-exposure prophylaxis, or preventive, vaccinations.
“In general, if people didn’t see a bat in the room, it’s extremely unlikely that they have any risk for rabies,” Harrist said.
From Grand Teton National Park: What is considered a bat exposure to rabies?
- A bite or a scratch from a bat to a human.
- Saliva contact from a bat to a human’s open cut or mucus membrane.
- Physical contact with a bat.
- A person who cannot confirm or communicate a potential exposure — like a child, a deep sleeper, or someone who is mentally impaired or on mind-altering drugs — might be considered at-risk.
Bat run-ins are common this time of year. Teton County’s public health department gets several calls each week in the summer from people worried about rabies exposure from bats.
“The chances of even one of [the bats] having rabies or having been exposed to rabies is low, but to me the death of one person because of something that we could have otherwise prevented is not acceptable,” Riddell said.
This is the county’s first mass exposure event since 2017 when over a dozen people received treatment after a bat colony was found at AMK ranch, also in Grand Teton National Park.
The hotel is still on track to host the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium next week. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to speak.
Anyone with questions is advised to contact Grand Teton Lodge Company and their local health department about a rabies risk assessment.
Editor's Note: Sophia Boyd-Fliegel contributed reporting.
