PrepTest 152, Section 1, Question 14
Pratt: Almost all cases of rabies in humans(53 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- AA rabid bat(16 more words not shown)
- BRabid bats are(10 more words not shown)
- CMost animals that(14 more words not shown)
- DThe bat species(11 more words not shown)
- EPeople are more(21 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If bats rarely bite and very few have rabies, the warnings might sound excessive. But could the bats pass rabies to another animal that then bites a person?
That's the route I'd initially investigate. A bat wouldn't have to bite a human directly to contribute to a human infection. It could infect another animal, and that animal could pass it on. We aren't told that this happens here, but it would challenge the idea that shy bats pose little danger.
What we’re looking for
For a weakener, we need a reason the warnings could be justified despite Pratt's reassuring facts about bats. Let's see whether the choices provide that indirect route or some other reason to doubt the reassurance.
Working the answers
- A
This doesn't establish the indirect route I had in mind. Being much more likely to infect another bat than another kind of animal doesn't tell us how large the risk of infecting those other animals is. It certainly doesn't prove that rabies stays entirely within the bat population. But A supplies no clear reason that bats in buildings are more dangerous to people than Pratt allows.
- BCorrect
The bats that matter most for rabies transmission behave differently from the reassuring picture of a shy bat. Rabid bats are much more aggressive. That gives us a reason to worry about bites from precisely the bats that could transmit the disease.
The reduced mobility initially gives me pause: perhaps those bats have less ability to approach people. But these are bats already residing where people live or work. Being less mobile doesn't mean they cannot encounter or bite anyone there. Their greater aggression undermines Pratt's reliance on ordinary shy behavior, even though it doesn't prove that every such bat is dangerous or settle the exact level of risk.
- C
This describes the usual behavior of species that carry rabies. It doesn't tell us how bats behave when rabid, which is the distinction B supplies. A species rarely biting people under normal conditions doesn't by itself establish a heightened threat from the bats at issue.
- D
This makes the bats in buildings look less concerning relative to the highest-incidence species. It doesn't prove they are rabies-free, but excluding the species with the highest incidence from buildings doesn't weaken Pratt's reassurance about bats residing there.
- E
Awareness of a bite isn't the same as the likelihood of being bitten or infected. E doesn't tell us that bats inside buildings bite more often or are more likely to have rabies. The fact that people more readily notice a bite in one setting doesn't establish the danger needed to challenge Pratt's reasoning.
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