Do You Have Rabies Today?
Bat found downtown last week suggests “several people” might
By Chase Hoffberger, 11:32AM, Thu. Aug. 9, 2018
The city’s Public Health office is attempting to identify “several people who recently came in contact” with a bat. Animal Protection found the bat on the ground outside the Convention Center at 4:30pm last Thursday, Aug. 2, that has since tested positive for rabies.
As a reference point, 4:30pm last Thursday was when registration for RTX was going on – not a prime “flying around” time for a bat.
APH is specifically looking for a group of women who may have picked the bat up from its place on the sidewalk and attempted to feed it water. And if you happened to pick the bat up and place it in a tree, only to have it fall out of the tree back onto the ground, then you should definitely go to APH.
If you’re one of these women and currently fearing you might have rabies, APH writes that you likely only contracted the virus if the bat bit or scratched you, or if you had an open wound or abrasion that the bat may have rubbed up upon. Rabies takes a while to show symptoms, so don’t wait until you’ve got a fever or headache. Call the Disease Surveillance Program at 512/972-5555 and make plans to undergo some tests.
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Nov. 16, 2018
rabies, bat, Austin Public Health
