Bat tests positive for rabies in Millard County

MILLARD COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — A bat has recently tested positive for rabies in Millard County, according to the Central Utah Health Department.

The bat was tested for rabies by the state lab, and the results came back positive for rabies.

“Bats are known carriers for rabies, and while they typically avoid human contact, we advise the public to never handle them directly,” Health Officer for the Central Utah Health Department Nate Selin said in a news release.

He advised that everyone make sure that their pets are vaccinated for rabies, and if you encounter a bat, do not touch it. If you are bitten or are potentially exposed to rabies, seek immediate medical attention.

Here are a few additional tips to avoid rabies and stay safe.

• Avoid contact with wildlife! Rabies is transmitted through bites or saliva from infected animals.
• Do not approach wild animals, especially bats, raccoons, or skunks.
• If you are bitten or scratched by a wild animal, thoroughly wash the wound with soap and water and immediately seek medical attention.
• Make sure your pets, especially dogs, cats, and ferrets, are vaccinated against rabies and are up to date on their vaccinations.
• If you find a bat inside your home, avoid handling it and instead contact animal control or a professional for removal.

The Health Department has additional information available about rabies on its website here. They also have a rabies exposure tool, which is a survey that can help you determine your risk of exposure to rabies and will provide the next steps on whom to call for help.

According to data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, in 2022 (the most recent year for which data is available), 128 bats were tested for rabies in Utah, and 10% of bats tested came back positive.

Bats with rabies were identified in Davis (2 bats), Garfield (1 bat), Kane (1 bat), Salt Lake (3 bats), Utah (2 bats), Washington (2 bats), and Weber (2 bats) counties. Most rabies infections identified in Utah are in bats, followed by dogs, raccoons, and foxes.

What is rabies?

Most people have a general idea of what rabies is and what some of the symptoms are, but you can never be too informed, especially when it comes to a deadly virus. You can learn more about rabies from this fact sheet from the Health Department.

Rabies is a nervous system disease caused by a virus that infects both humans and animals. Humans usually get rabies from exposure to an infected animal, and rabies in humans is fatal almost 100% of the time.

Once a human begins to show signs of rabies, there is no effective treatment and no survival rate, which is why it is crucial to seek medical care as soon as possible after being exposed. If you have been exposed, you will need to receive rabies vaccines, called post-exposure prophylaxis. This is the only way to prevent rabies following exposure.

Bites are the most common way to be exposed to rabies, when the skin is punctured by the teeth of an animal. However, you can also be exposed by non-bites, which occur when “saliva, brain tissue, or spinal fluid from an animal with rabies enters any scratch, abrasion, open wound, eyes, or the mouth,” according to the Utah Health Department. Non-bite exposure is uncommon.

Animals most likely to transmit rabies in the United States are bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks, but in Utah, almost all cases of rabies occur in bats.

Contrary to the representations of rabid animals in media, most animals with rabies look and act normal. However, there are also two common presentations of the disease.

• “Furious” rabies, in which the infected animal is easily excited or angered.
• “Dumb” rabies, in which the infected animal becomes paralyzed.

Other signs to look out for in infected animals are when they become irritable, restless and nervous. You may see nocturnal animals like bats out during the day, or they may be on the ground and unable to fly. Rabid animals may also seem unafraid of humans.