Two bats found in Chapel Hill tested positive for rabies recently at the State Laboratory of Public Health.
The first bat was submitted after residents in the vicinity of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road saw their cat with its paw on a bat in their driveway. The second bat was submitted after residents in the vicinity of Meacham and Damascus Church roads found it dead on their kitchen floor. All three of the residents’ cats had access to the kitchen where the bat was found.
In both cases, the cats were currently vaccinated against rabies and received rabies booster shots within 72 hours of exposures, which is required under North Carolina law. Animals exposed to rabies that have not been vaccinated or do not receive rabies boosters within 72 hours must either be destroyed or quarantined for six months.
So far this year, Orange County Animal Services has received six positive rabies tests. If any possible exposure to a bat, raccoon or fox is suspected, call Animal Control at 245-2075 or call 911.