SYDNEY, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Experts are urging the Australian public to exercise extreme caution around bats following the death of a man in his 50s from the New South Wales (NSW) state, who contracted the rare and deadly Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) after being bitten several months ago.

The case, confirmed by NSW Health recently, is the first in the state and only the fourth recorded nationwide since the virus was identified in 1996.

Alison Peel, a veterinarian and wildlife disease ecologist at the University of Sydney, emphasized that ABLV circulates naturally in Australian bats, but infected bats cannot always be identified by appearance alone.

"You can't always tell just by looking at a bat whether it's infected or not," Peel said, warning that the virus, closely related to rabies, can be transmitted through bites or scratches when bat saliva enters the skin.

She stressed that people cannot contract the virus simply by being near bats and highlighted the importance of allowing bats to fulfill their ecological roles without increasing human contact.

James Gilkerson, director of the Center for Equine Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne, noted that ABLV is present in both flying fox and microbat populations and is almost always fatal if not treated before symptoms appear.

Gilkerson strongly advised that only trained, vaccinated wildlife handlers should interact with bats, while unvaccinated members of the public should avoid all contact.

Health authorities and experts continue to remind the public that any bat in Australia could carry ABLV, and the safest response is to avoid handling bats entirely. ■