Rabies shots are expensive, hard to find, and time consuming

Raccoons, bats and foxes are just a few of the North Carolina animals that carry rabies. If a human is attacked by a carrier, it's easy to treat, but NBC-17 has found its extremely expensive and time consuming.

John Hutton was about to exit his laundry room last month when he was smacked in the face by a bat. He said he didn't see any blood so he went about his day. The next night at a party, he mentioned the encounter to some doctors, who said the incident isn't funny at all and could turn deadly if it isn't treated.

"Once you show clinical symptoms of rabies, it's a 100 percent mortality rate," said Hutton.

Marilyn Haskell of the N.C. Divison of Public Health says a lot of people don't know how serious a bite from a rabid animal can be.

"It is gory and it is gruesome. It is a horrific way to die," said Haskell. "Rabies affects the nervous system and your brain. Many experience uncontrollable seizures and ultimately go into a coma and die."

For that reason, the health department insists that after any contact with wildlife like raccoons, bats or foxes, you get a rabies shot immediately.

So following that advice, Hutton got on the phone called his doctor and then the Wake County Health Department. But the earliest that they could see him for a post-exposure rabies shot was eight days.

Haskell said that wait is not acceptable because rabies symptoms could present themselves as soon as a couple of days.

So what other facilities provide rabies shots? According to Haskell, urgent care facilities provide much less expensive rabies shots than hospitals. But according to our investigation, you can't get them there.

NBC-17 called several urgent care centers that stated they either no longer provided rabies shots or they don't do carry them. Every urgent care facility we called said the only place to go is the emergency room.

Hutton went to Rex Hospital for treatment, which took four trips with three to four hour waits each time.

"I took up emergency room time," said Hutton. "These doctors should be spending time looking at me. They should have been spending time to look at other people."

If you think the long wait and multiple visits are tough to handle, the hospital bills are worse. Hutton said the first treatment resulted in a bill of $10,289. But why so much?

The cost of the ER facility is only 7 percent of the bill, but then you need a vial of immunoglobulin. That's where the big money factors in. Depending on its weight, a vial of immunoglobulin can cost upwards of $1,500. According to Rex Hospital Emergency Room supervisor Sherry Witt, immunoglobulin is like liquid gold.

According to Rex, in Hutton's $10,000 bill, that one shot was 80 percent of the bill -more than $8,000 for that one shot.

"That's what's going to save your life, that's probably why it's so expensive. It's also very expensive to manufacture," said Witt.

Witt adds that the shot is very delicate. It must be kept in a very controlled environment and has a very short shelf life. If it doesn't get used, it gets thrown out. And, it takes seven people just to administer it.

Witt says the hospital does not profit from the rabies shot and the hospital does it as a service to the community.

"If we could get out of the rabies business, we would. But we are the only ones who can do it," said Witt.

Triangle-based Talecris is the maker of immunoglobulin. In an interview with the company, they explained why it's so hard to produce the shot. Click here to read that interview.

Health officials say the only way to protect yourself from rabies is to never approach wildlife and "contact" doesn't always involve blood. The animal can bite you or transmit rabies without piercing the skin, so any contact at all is a threat. If you do come in contact with wildlife, try to trap the animal or have Animal Control trap the animal. The animal would then be tested for rabies, which will determine if you need to get the shots.

For more information about rabies control and prevention, click here.