Graphic: Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services.###PREVIOUSLY: Three Kids Treated for Rabies Exposure After Handling Positive Bats, Humboldt County Public Health Says###From the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services Facebook page:Humboldt County Public Health officials are continuing to remind community residents not to touch bats following another incident where an individual was bitten by a bat they handled on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus that later tested positive for rabies. This brings to four, the number of local people who have had to be treated in the past two months after touching bats that later tested positive for rabies.Between January and Sept. 15 of this year, Humboldt County has had five bats and one skunk test positive for the rabies virus, according to the California Department of Public Health, and earlier this month, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning of a “Nationwide Increase in Reported Human Rabies Exposures: Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Administration.”Preventative measures include avoiding contact with wild and stray animals, bringing pet food indoors at night, reporting animal bites to your county or municipal animal control officer and, if bitten, washing the bite immediately with soap and water and seeking medical attention. Public Health officials stress the important of fully vaccinating domestic animals against rabies, including dogs, cats and select livestock.For questions about rabies or to report a rabid animal, please call the DHHS Division of Environmental Health at 707-445-6215 or toll free at 1-800-963-9241.
