MN Health Officials Seek Woman Seen Picking Up Rabid Bat In Downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A bat found on a downtown Minneapolis sidewalk has tested positive for rabies, the Minnesota Department of Health confirmed.

The bat was found around noon Tuesday, Sept. 15, on Hennepin Avenue between North Washington Avenue and North 3rd Street, and the agency received the test results Friday.

An MDH poster seen downtown says health officials are looking for a woman who may have touched the bat while it was on the sidewalk, FOX 9 reported.

MDH is also working to identify anyone else who had contact with it, the station said.

CBS Minnesota reported the department described the woman as about 25 to 30 years old, roughly 5 feet 5 inches tall, with curly brown hair, and said she was seen with a curly-haired golden retriever-like dog.

The woman was seen crouching over the bat and putting it in a bag before handing it to another passerby, who took it in to be tested for rabies.

MDH says anyone who touched the bat should talk with a health care provider because bat bites can be tiny, painless, and leave no mark.

Officials also want anyone who touched the bat to call 911 and ask to be connected to Animal Care and Control. People who did not touch or have contact with the bat are not at risk and do not need the vaccine, MDH said.

Rabies is fatal but can be prevented with vaccination, CBS Minnesota reported.

Once symptoms appear, it cannot be treated, and symptoms may not show up for weeks or months after exposure, according to the outlet.

Most human rabies cases in the U.S. result from bat bites, and the CDC reported earlier this month that it received 17 percent more rabies-related inquiries from July through August than in the same period last year.

MDH advises never touching a bat with bare hands, and says a bat that has touched someone or turns up in a room with a sleeping person or unattended child should be captured safely and submitted for testing.