Health officials said a person may have been exposed to a bat that tested positive for rabies at a South Carolina swimming pool.
Officials said the person thought the bat was a leaf in the pool and picked the animal up using their bare hands on July 15.
According to health officials, there was no obvious evidence that the victim was bitten or scratched by the bat, but bat bites are often hard to identify as bat teeth are so small.
It's the fifth animal to test positive for rabies this year in York County.
"People often incorrectly associate bats with rabies," said Sandra Craig of DHEC's Bureau of Environmental Health Services. "Bats are an important part of South Carolina's ecosystems and deserve a healthy degree of respect just like all wild animals. You can't tell that a bat, or any other animal, has rabies by simply looking at it. Rabies must be confirmed in a laboratory."
According to Craig, "Rabies warning signs in bats include daytime activity, inability to fly, approachability and location. Rabies should be suspected if bats are found in places they are not usually seen like in your home or on your lawn. Never handle a bat or any wild or stray animal, alive or dead, with your bare hands."
"Rabid bats have been known to transmit the virus to humans and pets," said Craig. "People - especially children - sometimes don't realize they've been bitten and it is very easy to overlook a bat bite because bat teeth are so tiny. If you find a bat in a room, a tent or a cabin where someone has been sleeping or where unattended children have been playing, always assume the bat could have bitten the sleeping person or the unattended children. Bats that have the potential to have been in contact with people, their pets or livestock should be safely trapped in a sealed container and not touched; call your local DHEC BEHS office to report the incident."
For more information on how to safely capture a bat, please visit the CDC's website.
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