Rabid bat suspected to have bitten someone in Brantford, Ont., health unit said

A bat in Brantford, Ont., tested positive for rabies and is suspected to have bitten someone, the Brant County Health Unit says. 

That person is not showing rabies symptoms, the health unit said in a news release this week, but is being treated for exposure to the virus as a precaution.

Lab testing confirmed the bat had rabies and it's now dead now. 

This is the first case of suspected human exposure to an animal with rabies this year in the Brantford-Brant region, the health unit said.

'Low' risk of encountering animals with rabies, MOH says

In early September, a Brantford-Brant resident tested positive for rabies, but the individual came into contact with the bat while in the Gowganda area of the Timiskaming region. That one was the first domestically acquired case of human rabies since 1967.

"The risk of coming across an infected animal with rabies in Ontario is low," local medical officer of health Dr. Rebecca Comley told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

Typically, bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons can carry the virus, Comely said. One can only contract it through a bite or scratch, but those can be difficult to see, she added. 

"This is particularly important in the case of bats because it may be very difficult to see a bite or a scratch. So if you do get contact with a bat or if you get a bite or scratch from any wild animal that could carry rabies, it's important to get immediately assessed."

It's also important to wash any wound with soap and water, she said.

To avoid rabies, the health unit recommends avoiding touching, approaching and feeding wild animals, ensuring pets and livestock are vaccinated against the virus, and avoiding animals that act strangely, or are injured or sick.

If you find a bat in your home, call animal services, they said.

The health unit notes that the rabies vaccine in humans is highly effective but only if administered before someone shows symptoms.

Rabid bats were detected in Hamilton and Burlington this past summer, as they are most years.