
Bats in Portuguese Libraries (2018) - diodorus
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/these-portuguese-libraries-are-infested-batsand-they-it-way-180969276/
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mehh
The library at Coimbra is well worth a visit, I didn't even know about the
bats!

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mig39
Coimbra in general is worth a visit. :-) And so is the surrounding countryside
and towns.

My oldest kid pointed out that the university literally has an ivory tower on
a hill :-)

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jrochkind1
As a library worker myself, I keep noticing and continue to find HN's
fascination with libraries interesting. What do you think that's about?

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cko
Perhaps as a library worker, you are more prone to notice articles on HN that
have anything to do with libraries.

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lowdose
Librarians are the original data scientists.

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gfiorav
Some of the libraries featured here inspired JK Rowling for Hogwarts. You can
kind of see the resemblance. Especially when you see the college students wear
black robes :)

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itsajoke
This was interesting enough that I subscribed to Smithsonian Magazine. Thanks
for the recommendation!

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weinzierl
In a large library bats are probably quite harmless but they can and do
occasionally transmit rabies:

 _" Bats are responsible for roughly 7 in 10 rabies deaths among people who
are infected with the rabies virus in the United States, [..]"_

[https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0611-bats-
rabies.ht...](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0611-bats-rabies.html)

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simias
Rabies is very rare in Europe nowadays.

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HarryHirsch
That's because the main vector was the fox. The vaccination campaign that was
started in the 1980s was extremely successful.

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LolWolf
Oooh, I did not know this and love to read more about it! Do you have a good
source/expository article?

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HarryHirsch
Here's a pretty thorough report from the European Union:
[https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/sci-c...](https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/sci-
com_scah_out80_en.pdf)

The NY Times had something about the first trials in Switzerland:
[https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/08/us/use-of-a-live-
vaccine-...](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/08/us/use-of-a-live-vaccine-in-
bait-stems-rabies-in-a-swiss-area.html)

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LolWolf
These are great, thanks!

