In Toronto, it seems like almost everyone’s on Facebook. Good thing too, as when some local public health officials were looking for a certain woman who had contact with a bat who had rabies, they *didn’t* turn to other venerable online institutions to find people … they turned to Facebook.

Which, ironically, is actually banned as a tool (other otherwise) for public servants.

The story had a happy ending, as they were able to find the woman within the hour and had her on rabies treatments — this was good as rabies can kill you.

Geeky Medical Facts:

• There is only a single case of someone who had survived a rabies exposure without having taken a rabies vaccine before onset of symptoms. It happened in 2004 to a 15 year old girl who had been exposed to a bat bite 1 month before presenting to a physician. While she did survive, no one’s quite sure if it was the unusual things that were done to help her (an experimental protocol that involved medically induced coma), or something else. She’s not yet made a complete recovery either, as she was left with difficulties speaking, walking, and trouble with fine motor activities.
• The actual vaccination schedule is rough (but lifesaving): after your initial vaccination, you need to get four additional shots spaced over the course of the month. They’re also administered right into the muscle which is usually more uncomfortable. But did I mention that they’re usually life saving?