For Immediate Release: December 29, 2015
Contact: Tricia Landquist tlandquist@ochca.com, 714-834-2178
Bat Found at Irvine Regional Park Tests Positive for Rabies
(Santa Ana) – A bat found near the lake at Irvine Regional Park at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 27, 2015 has tested positive for rabies. Anyone who may have had physical contact with this bat or saw someone else having contact with the bat is asked to call Orange County Health Care Agency Epidemiology at (714) 834-8180 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or (714) 834-7792 after hours to determine the risk for rabies.
The rabies virus is found in an animal’s saliva and is transmitted to people by a bite from a rabid animal. Although very rare, contamination of the eyes, mouth or an open wound by the saliva of a rabid animal can also transmit rabies. Most cases of human rabies in the United States in recent years have resulted from bat strains of rabies; bats have very small teeth, and their bites may go unnoticed. Continue reading
