Dead bat found at Fremont home tests positive for rabies

FREMONT – A dead bat found earlier this week in Fremont tested positive for the rabies virus, police said.

The bat was discovered Tuesday at a residence near De Salle Terrace, the Fremont Police Department said in a news release. It was collected and submitted for testing.

The Alameda County Department of Public Health later confirmed the bat had the rabies virus, police said.

There was no known human or animal exposure, but the resident’s dog will be revaccinated and quarantined for 30 days “out of an abundance of caution,” police said.

The city’s last confirmed case of a rabid bat was in 2019, police said.

Alameda County Vector Control, the lead agency investigating the incident, plans to conduct door-to-door notifications in the area where the bat was found, police said.

Rabies is a viral disease that is deadly in people if medical care is not received before symptoms start, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is spread to humans and pets primarily through bites or scratches from an infected animal.

According to the CDC, each year 60,000 Americans receive medical care following a potential rabies exposure.

Police urged anyone who touched or was bitten by the bat to contact the Alameda County Public Health Acute Communicable Disease Program at 510-267-3250 and seek medical care. In addition, anyone whose pet had contact with the bat should call Fremont Animal Services at 510-790-6635 and talk to their veterinarian, police said.

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