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Health officials seek woman seen handling rabid bat in downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday
CBS News • • health
Key Points:
- A bat found on a downtown Minneapolis sidewalk tested positive for rabies, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
- The bat was discovered on Hennepin Avenue near North Washington Avenue and North Third Street around noon last Tuesday.
- A woman described as a 25-30-year-old White female with curly brown hair and a curly-haired golden retriever-like dog was seen handling the bat and passing it to another person who took it for testing.
- Officials urge anyone who touched the bat to call 911 to connect with Animal Care and Control and consult their healthcare provider, noting that bat bites may be painless and leave no marks.
- Rabies is fatal if untreated but preventable through vaccination; symptoms can take weeks or months to appear, and most U.S. human rabies cases stem from bat bites.
