First Rabid Bat of The Year Reported, in Lake Villa
LAKE VILLA -- The Lake County (Ill.) Health Department/Community Health Center is urging residents to avoid contact with bats after the discovery of a bat in a Lake Villa yard tested positive for rabies.
The rabid bat was found in a Lake Villa yard on Sunday, according to the Lake County Health Department. There was no human contact with the bat.
This is the first bat that tested positive for rabies in Lake County this year. Last year, nine bats found in Lake County tested positive. In Lake County, bats are the only animals that have tested positive for rabies in the past 20 years, according to the health department.
Rabies is an almost-always fatal disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. However, this disease is fully preventable with prophylaxis. Most commonly, people get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal. In other cases, people can contract rabies if any infectious material from a rabid animal, such as saliva, comes in contact with one’s nose, mouth, an open wound or gets directly into the eyes.
The Lake County Health Department is urging anyone who has direct contact with a bat or notices a bat acting in an unusual manner, such as flying in daylight or lying on the ground or in their home, to contact the Health Department at (847) 949-9925. If the bat is inside the house, the health department says not to chase it away, because it may be needed for rabies testing.
Parents should make sure children know that they should never touch a bat that is lying on the ground. The bat may not be dead, just ill, and could bite. Pet owners should be on the alert for bats near their homes, because pets that spend time outdoors can easily come into contact with these animals. If a rabid animal bites a pet, the pet may, in turn, bite a person, transmitting rabies to that individual.
Rabies can be avoided in pets by vaccination, which is why a rabies vaccination is required for dogs and cats.
While bats can transmit rabies, the health department says, they are also beneficial animals. Some species can eat up to 600 insects in an hour. Besides mosquitoes, bats eat crop-destroying pests, like moths, locusts and grasshoppers.
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