White Sands National Park is searching for a teenager who touched a dead bat and brought it into the visitor center on June 18. According to the National Park Service (NPS), at 10:20 a.m., a teenager came into the visitor center holding a bat and put it on the desk. The teen and an adult told staff they found the bat already dead.
The NPS said that any contact with a bat, dead or alive, should be treated as a possible rabies exposure. Rabies is nearly always deadly once symptoms start, but medical care can prevent the disease. Last year, a bat tested positive for rabies at White Sands.
The NPS is asking the teen’s parent or guardian to find a medical provider or local health department to discuss rabies and whether post-exposure treatment is needed. The NPS also asked them to contact White Sands National Park at [email protected].
Rabies is usually transmitted through contact with saliva from an infected animal. When a bat is dead, acting strange, lying on the ground, flying near people, or touching people, the exposure risk for rabies increases.
The NPS said the best way to protect yourself and animals from rabies exposure is to keep a safe distance and never pick up a wild animal. Instead of touching sick or dead wildlife, find a park ranger.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
