Rabid Bat Found Hidden Under Microwave in Joliet Home

A live bat taken from the 400 block of Harwood in Joliet represents Will County’s fifth confirmed case of wildlife rabies for 2014, the Will County Health Department said Thursday.

The bat, eventually captured by Will County Animal Control, was elusive and cozy to be sure.

At least one of the three people living on the Harwood property thought they saw a bat in their residence on Aug. 21, but the animal disappeared, health officials said. It was spotted again the next morning, sheltering beneath a microwave which rested on a kitchen counter.

Will County Animal Control was immediately notified and the bat was subsequently dispatched to the Illinois Department of Public Health for laboratory analysis. Rabies was confirmed August 25, and post-exposure rabies treatments were recommended for all three people living at the home.

Human rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease which is almost universally fatal in unimmunized persons. There is no substitute for seeking timely medical intervention following suspected rabies virus exposure.

Nationally, 28 of the last 31 U.S. rabies fatalities have involved bats. In Illinois, more than 97 percent of all wildlife rabies cases confirmed since 2000 have been linked to bat exposure, the health department said.

Will is one of at least eight Illinois counties to report wildlife rabies activity during 2014. The state confirmed wildlife rabies in 21 counties a year ago, including six Will County cases.

The summer months account for the majority of wildlife rabies cases. Persons who believe they may have come in contact with a bat, or any other suspect animal, should consult a health professional as soon as possible.

Will County Animal Control is available for area residents who believe a bat exposure has occurred. Call Animal Control anytime at 815-462-5633.