The Orange County Health Care Agency (OC HCA) has reported that two bats discovered in OC this past September have tested positive for rabies. The first bat was discovered Sept.14 at approximately 10:30 am in a parking lot at Pickleball Court No. 1 at the Fountain Valley Tennis Center on 16400 Brookhurst St. in Fountain Valley, Calif.
About two weeks after the first bat was found, a second bat was discovered outside the main lobby of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Building on Alton Parkway in Irvine, Calif on Sept. 29.
The agency urges residents to remain alert and to avoid contact to ensure that everyone is unscathed. Anyone who potentially had physical contact with a bat is advised to contact the OC HCA’s Communicable Disease Control Division at (714) 834-8180. After exposure with a bat, it is vital to wash the area of the bite or scratch thoroughly and immediately consult a clinical or public health provider to be assessed. Post-exposure treatment involves a rabies vaccine to be administered regardless of if you’ve already been given one in the past.
If any pet has been exposed or bitten, owners are also urged to contact their veterinarian to determine the risk for rabies.
“Do not approach bats, wildlife, or other mammals seen exhibiting odd behavior,” health officials said. “Sick bats may be seen flopping around on the ground or otherwise acting unusual. If you find a sick bat or other sick wildlife on your property, take children and pets indoors.”
The OC HCA and OC Animal Care officials immediate press release advised the following in order to mitigate the spread of the infection:
- “Avoid all contact with wild animals
- Vaccinate all cats and dogs against rabies
- Do not sleep with open unscreened windows or doors
- If bats are seen inside the house or other structure, close off the area and contact animal control
- Do not leave pet food outside where it will attract wild animals
- Immediately wash all animal bites with soap and water, being sure to flush the wound well, then contact your doctor
- Report all animal bites to OC Animal Care
- Report stray animals to OC Animal Care.”
To report a bat in your home or an animal bite , contact OC Animal Care at (714) 935-6848.
The rabies virus is found in a rabid animal’s saliva; direct transmission often occurs through a bite from the rabid animal. Transmission can also occur when the saliva of a rabid animal comes into contact with the eyes, mouth, abrasions or an open wound. However, this transfer is rare.
Recent studies have shown that the leading cause of human rabies in the United States is exposure to rabid bats, accounting for 70% of those infected. Since bats have extremely small teeth, a bite may go unnoticed.
After countless studies on the virus, researchers cultivated that once the virus is introduced into a muscle, it then moves within the nerves to the spinal cord into the brain. This is the time between the initial transmission and when symptoms begin to materialize which is known as the incubation period.
During this period of time the virus is not contagious because it resides in the brain as it multiplies rapidly. Once the brain is inflamed the virus passes on to the salivary glands to the saliva and becomes transferable.
It takes anywhere from three weeks to three months to develop symptoms, but once present the disease is often fatal because of the damage caused to the brain.
“Rabies is treatable if caught before symptoms appear, so identifying anyone who has had contact with the bat as soon as possible is important,” medical epidemiologist at Public Health – Seattle & King County, Elysia Gonzales said.
For more information about rabies, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Alexia Diane Hawley is a City News Staff Writer. She can be reached at adhawley@uci.edu.
