Officials Issue Bat Warning After Child Exposed To Rabies

The Spokane Regional Health District is warning people to stay away from bats after a child was exposed to rabies by picking one up.

Two children found a live bat Friday and one of the kids handled it. The bat later was tested by the state Department of Health and found to carry rabies.

Health officials didn’t release any other details of the exposure.

In Spokane and most of Washington state, bats are the only wild species shown to repeatedly carry the rabies virus, health officials said.

“Human rabies is extremely rare, but two deaths have occurred in Washington in the last two years,” said Dr. Johin Kobayashi, communicable disease epidemiologist at the state health department. “Both involved exposure to bat rabies virus.”

Less than 1 percent of normally behaving bats have rabies, but about one out of 10 bats that bite or come in contact with people are rabid, health officials say. Normal bats are nocturnal and don’t come out during the day, don’t lie on the ground, and, as a general rule, don’t fly around in houses.

People are encouraged not to handle wildlife. Anyone exposed to a bat or animal they suspect to be rabid should contact a doctor immediately, the health district said.

More information about rabies can be obtained by calling the health district at 324-1451, 324-1569 or 324-1448.

, DataTimes