Table 1.
Variables used for this analysis.
| Variable Name | Encodes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | Sex of the tested bat (Male/Female/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Age | Age class of the tested bat (Adult/Juvenile/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Reproductive status | Reproductive status of the tested bat (Pregnant/Lactating/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Season | Austral seasons, aligned to temperate parts of Australia Summer (December to February) Autumn (March to May) Winter (June to August) Spring (September to November) |
Determined from event start date recorded in database |
| State | State or territory where the bat was found | Location information recorded in database |
| Year | Year in which the bat was found | Extracted from event start date recorded in database |
| Month | Calendar month in which the bat was found | Extracted from event start date recorded in database (only used for time series analysis). |
| Species | Bat species | Taxonomic information recorded in database. |
| Neurological signs | Bat was recorded as having neurological signs, or neurological signs were described in the case history supplied and interpreted as such by the authors (Yes/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Traumatic injury | Bat was recorded as having traumatic injury, or injuries were described in the case history supplied (Yes/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Reason for testing | Reason why the bat was submitted for ABLV testing. Hierarchy of potential reasons, with up to three of these recorded for an event: (1) human contact (2) pet contact (3) neurological signs (4) other signs Human contact is assigned as the first submission reason even if the contact was only determined later. |
Inferred from free text field |
| Circumstances | The circumstances in which the bat came to human attention (see Table 2). Designed to capture what is reported by the non-technical observer that finds or rescues the bat, so there is no interpretation of observations into clinical signs. | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Dog contact | Bat was recorded as having contact or possible contact with a dog (Yes/Unspecified) | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Human contact | Bat had reported contact with a human (Yes/No) * | Extracted from free text field if recorded. |
| Infection status | Outcome of testing for ABLV | Testing information recorded in database. |
* Human contact would be reported if it had occurred, so the comparison category is considered absence of human contact.