A bat that was brought in for testing is shown in this courtesy photo from the Department of Health.
A bat found in Centralia on private property has tested positive for rabies, according to the Lewis County Department of Public Health and Social Services, with only the man who found the bat and his dog known to have come in contact with the animal.
Rabid bats are rare in Lewis County — only two tested positive in 2018, both of which were found in Chehalis. A rabid bat was last found in Centralia in 2017.
Fewer than one percent of bats are infected with rabies, according to the state Department of health, but as many as 10 percent of bats tested find evidence of the disease.
“We get a lot more calls as summer warms up and there is a lot more activity with bats,” said J.P. Anderson, interim director of LCPHSS. “A lot of times what we’re doing is we’re talking with people who have questions to help either rule out exposure risk or talk with them about what’s happened and walk through whether or not we need to test the bat. I would say we’re likely to get a couple of those calls a day this time of year, but with a small percentage of them needing to be tested.”
Humans are most often exposed to rabies when contact with an animal, such as a bite or scratch, breaks the skin. Saliva can spread the almost always fatal disease if it comes into contact with a person’s eye, nose, throat or an open wound. Simply touching an animal will not spread the disease.
A person who fears they may have been exposed to rabies should clean the site with soap and water, contact their healthcare provider and call 360-740-1222 to determine the potential for exposure and whether or not the animal should be tested. The last two confirmed cases of rabies in Washington occurred in 1995 and 1997. Prompt treatment in cases of exposure is 100 percent effective in preventing rabies infection in humans.
“The risk of encountering a rabid bat is extremely low here, “Lewis County Health Officer Rachel Wood said in a press release from LCPHSS. “However, because the risk does exist, people should be aware of how rabies is carried and spread.”
Washington state law requires dogs, cats and ferrets kept as pets to be vaccinated against rabies. If a dead bat or wild animal is found, members of the public should not handle the body, but call the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife or other local authorities.
For more information, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/bats.
