CLAYTON, Mo. – A bat recently discovered in a Clayton home has tested positive for rabies.
The St. Louis County Department of Public Health reports the bat was collected from the home last Friday. It’s also the first bat to test positive for rabies in St. Louis County this year.
While the bat didn’t bite anyone in the home, two people around it decided they would undergo post-exposure prophylaxis treatment, including a rabies vaccine, as a precaution.
The CDC says rabies is a potentially fatal disease when contracted by humans.
In wake of the incident, St. Louis County health officials remind people to avoid direct contact with or handling all wildlife or any animal that is behaving strangely and make sure your pets are properly vaccinated against rabies.