The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is reminding Californians to be cautious around wild or unfamiliar animals following identification of rabies in a Fresno County resident who died after being bitten by a presumably rabid bat in Merced County approximately one month earlier. Deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, with fewer than 10 cases identified each year. Nonetheless, each year, thousands of people receive preventive treatment for rabies following a bite or other direct contact with an animal with possible rabies.

The Fresno County Department of Public Health (FCDPH) and the Merced County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) worked with CDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate rabies as a possible cause of the patient’s illness in mid-November. Samples collected at the hospital where the patient was being cared for were submitted to the state’s Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory (VRDL) where evidence of rabies was confirmed. The individual was hospitalized in a Fresno County hospital after experiencing symptoms and died late last week.

“Bites from bats can be incredibly small and difficult to see or to detect. It is important to wash your hands and look for any open wounds after touching a wild animal, and to seek immediate medical care if bitten,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, Dr. Tomás J. Aragón. “It is always safest to leave wild animals alone. Do not approach, touch, or try to feed any animals that you don't know."

What Should You Do If You Come in Contact with a Bat?

If a bat – dead or alive – is found, CDPH urges residents to take the following precautions:

• Bites from bats are often imperceptible, or very minor as occurred in this case, yet are one of the most common sources of human rabies in the US.
  
  
• Do not touch the bat; contact local animal control to remove or collect it. Keep pets and family members away from the area.
  
  
• If you touch a bat, wash the area with soap and water; if you are bitten, immediately contact your healthcare provider for additional guidance.
  
  
• Report the incident to your local health department.
  
  

Even if you aren't sure whether you've been bitten, it is recommended to seek medical attention. For instance, persons who find a bat indoors, particularly in areas where people were sleeping, should discuss rabies treatment with their health care provider even if they are not aware of any bites or other contact with the bat. Additionally, if you find a bat near a person who can't report a bite, such as a small child or a person with a disability, assume that person has been bitten.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a viral disease that is deadly in people if medical care is not received before symptoms appear; symptoms usually appear about 3 to 8 weeks after exposure but can occur earlier or months later. Rabies is spread to humans and pets primarily through bites from an infected animal. All mammals, including humans, can be infected with the rabies virus. In California, bats and skunks are the animals that most often get rabies. Each year, thousands of people in the United States receive medical care following a possible rabies exposure. Fortunately, rabies control measures taken in the U.S., including widespread vaccination of pet dogs, have significantly reduced rabies as a public health threat.

Common Signs That an Animal Has Rabies

An animal with rabies will have strange or unnatural behavior because the rabies virus attacks the brain. These behaviors can include:

• A bat that can’t fly or has been caught by a dog or a cat.
  
  
• A wild animal that seems unusually tame or unafraid to approach people.
  
  
• An animal out during the day that is usually active only at night.
  
  
• A pet that has trouble walking, eating, or drinking, or that has a change in personality or how it acts.
  
  
• A normally calm animal that acts in an agitated or aggressive manner.
  
  

How to Prevent Rabies

Because there is no treatment for rabies once symptoms begin, it is very important to prevent rabies exposures. To prevent rabies, vaccinate pets against the rabies virus and keep them up to date on their shots. Don’t handle wild animals. Talk to a healthcare provider immediately if you think you may have been bitten by an animal, particularly a wild or sick-acting animal.

For more information see the CDPH web page on rabies.