Bat tests positive for rabies in Chatham-Kent, prompting warning from health unit

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 8:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Public Health officials successful Chatham-Kent are informing radical to debar wild, assertive oregon stray animals aft a bat tested affirmative for rabies.

They are besides urging radical to instrumentality different measures to support themselves, their families and their pets.

"Rabies remains astir 100 per cent fatal erstwhile objective symptoms develop, and without contiguous aesculapian involution pursuing an exposure, the result is astir ever tragic," said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, acting aesculapian serviceman of wellness for Chatham-Kent, successful a quality release.

"That's wherefore punctual reporting of immoderate wound oregon scratch and timely post-exposure attraction is highly important."

Rabies is simply a viral illness that infects the cardinal tense strategy of mammals, including humans. It is transmitted done the saliva of infected animals, astir often via bites oregon scratches.

It's communal for bats to beryllium infected with rabies, truthful the affirmative trial successful Chatham-Kent is "concerning but not unexpected," CK Public Health said successful the release.

Other animals that tin dispersed rabies see raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, dogs and cats. 

Human rabies cases successful Canada are rare, but immoderate vulnerability to a rabid carnal carries a superior risk, the wellness portion said.

It urged radical to instrumentality the pursuing steps to support themselves and their loved ones and pets.

• Ensure pets are vaccinated against rabies and support their records up to date.

• If you fishy your favored has been exposed to a rabid animal, interaction your veterinarian immediately.

• Supervise pets outdoors—keep them connected a leash oregon wrong a securely fenced area.

• Stay distant from wild, stray oregon assertive animals. Do not touch, provender oregon determination young, sick oregon injured wildlife.

• Never support chaotic animals arsenic pets; they tin harbour diseases harmful to humans and home animals.

• Report stray animals to section carnal power services.

• If you find bats oregon different chaotic animals wrong your home, interaction a licensed pest power institution to safely region them and seal immoderate introduction points.

Officials counsel anyone that has had interaction with a bat oregon has been bitten oregon scratched by an carnal to question aesculapian attraction instantly study the vulnerability promptly to CK Public Health.