Adams County Health Department reports three bats testing positive for rabies found in past two months

QUINCY — The Adams County Health Department reported in a Friday press release that three bats in Adams County – one from the northwest, one from the east and one from the southwest – have tested positive for rabies in the past two months.

The health department is reminding residents that bats are active during this time of the year and is urging awareness of the risk of rabies exposure. 

Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. A person may contract rabies through a bite, scratch or saliva from an infected animal. A bat bite or scratch may not be seen or even felt by the injured person due to the small size of a bat’s teeth. A potential rabies exposure should never be taken lightly. If untreated, rabies is fatal. 

If a person or small child is asleep or not directly observed while a bat was in the room, seek treatment and have the bat tested if possible.

If you find yourself near a bat, dead or alive, do not touch it, hit it or destroy it. Call Animal Control at 217-277-2145 to collect the bat if testing is necessary. Call your healthcare provider immediately to report the exposure and determine if preventive treatment is needed.

Recommendations to help prevent the spread of rabies:

• If you are bitten, wash the bite wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention.
• If you wake to a bat in the room, you may need to be treated if the bat cannot be tested.
• Keep vaccinations up to date for all dogs, cats, ferrets and other animals you own.
• Seek immediate veterinary assistance for your pet if it is bitten by a wild animal or exposed to a bat.
• Never adopt wild animals, bring them into your home or try to nurse sick wild animals to health.
• Teach children never to handle unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly.
• Maintain homes and other buildings so bats cannot get inside.

For additional questions, contact the Adams County Health Department Public Information Officer at 217-277-2215.