As the weather warms up in King County, bats come out of hibernation, which means a big increase in human-bat interactions compared to other times of year. Bats that are infected with rabies can spread the infection to humans who have bare skin contact with bats or bat saliva.
Each summer, we receive between 70 to 100 reports of people being exposed to rabid bats in King County. And, in the recent weeks we’ve received reports of two rabid bats that interacted with humans. If you had contact with a bat, or even woke up in a room with a bat inside, you should call your medical provider immediately, in addition to reporting the exposure to Public Health at: 206-296-4774.
70% of Americans who die from rabies in the US were infected by bats – CDC Vital Signs As the weather warms up in King County, adult bats come out of hibernation, baby bats are learning to fly, and humans get outdoors, which means a big increase in human-bat interactions compared to other times of year. Bats can be infected […]
Auburn Animal Control services were notified the morning of August 13 of two bats (1 dead, the other appeared sick) on the sidewalk near the corner of B Street NE and 3rd Street NE in Auburn. Public Health conducted an investigation and did not identify anyone who had contact with the bats. The bats tested […]
Public Health Insider has reported on multiple incidents of human/bat interactions this summer – a bat in a park bathroom, a bat at an equestrian center and a bat near Husky Stadium. Statewide, bat-human encounters broke a record this spring. So what are the essential 5 things to know about bats? Read on: 1. Anyone […]
At around 6:30 a.m. on July 13, a bat was found in a public men’s restroom by park staff at Cottage Lake Park in Woodinville. Based on a description of the bat provided by park staff, the bat may have been handled by one or more people. Park staff were able to safely capture the […]