COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) — The South Carolina Department of Public Health confirmed that a bat found in Dorchester County has tested positive for rabies.
A pet dog was exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act. The bat was submitted to the department’s laboratory for testing on Tuesday and confirmed to have rabies on New Year’s Eve.
Health officials are urging people to never handle a bat or any wild or stray animal with their bare hands, dead or live. If a bat had potential contact with people, pets or livestock, it should be safely trapped in a sealed container and not touched and not released. Once released, it cannot be tested for rabies…