Bat Rabies in the News

The Washington State Department of Health on Saturday confirmed the bat had rabies. It is the eighth case of rabies among bats in the state this year.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is warning residents of the dangers of rabies after several cases of rabid bats have been reported.  IDPH said so far this year, 27 rabid bats have been reported in the state with several of those in Chicago-area counties.

They also found that culling didn’t reduce the numbers of dead livestock — once an outbreak had begun, the burden of disease was the same regardless of whether bats were killed. The finding counters the idea that reducing populations of vampire bats will help to limit rabies outbreaks.