Officials warn that bat bites can go unnoticed and urge prompt reporting of any possible exposure
NEED TO KNOW
- A bat that tested positive for rabies was found near Mesa Trail at O’Neill Regional Park in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
- Health officials urge anyone with possible contact to seek medical guidance immediately
- Officials remind residents that bat bites can go unnoticed, and rabies is nearly always fatal without immediate treatment
A bat found along a popular hiking trail in Orange County, Calif., has tested positive for rabies, prompting public health officials to urge caution and ask anyone, hikers and pets, who may have had contact with the animal to come forward.
According to a press release from the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) published on Friday, Jan. 23, and obtained by PEOPLE, the rabid bat was discovered on Jan. 20, near the gate entrance along the Mesa Trail at O’Neill Regional Park in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita. The bat was found around 10 a.m. off El Camino Montana Road, between El Lazo and Juniper Lane.
Health officials have requested that anyone who may have touched the bat — or witnessed someone else in contact with the animal — should immediately notify the HCA Communicable Disease Control Division to assess their risk of exposure. Pet owners whose animals may have come into contact with the bat are urged to contact their veterinarian.
As explained in the release, rabies is a viral disease spread through the saliva of infected animals, most commonly through bites. While human rabies cases are rare in the U.S., HCA notes that the most recent cases have been linked to bat strains of the virus. Because bats have tiny teeth, bites may go unnoticed.
“Once a person begins showing signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease is nearly always fatal,” per the release, adding that preventative treatment should be administered immediately after exposure. “This treatment is safe and effective…