Three people in rural eastern Snohomish County are now going through rabies post-exposure treatment after an unwelcome visitor flew into their home this week and later tested positive for the virus. Health officials said the residents received human rabies immune globulin along with a series of rabies vaccine shots. Human rabies is rare in Washington, but because the disease is almost always fatal if it is not treated, public-health staff are urging people to be extra careful around bats.
In a May 29 press release, the Snohomish County Health Department said the bat flew into a private home Sunday night, was captured and taken to a wildlife center the next day, and then tested positive for rabies at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory on Wednesday. According to the department, it is the first bat in Snohomish County to test positive since 2023 and only the second confirmed rabid bat in Washington so far this year. Public-health staff are following up with the household and coordinating evaluation, testing, and treatment for anyone, including pets, who might have been exposed.
“Bat season has officially started,” Susan Babcock, a public health nurse with the department’s prevention services division, said in the release from the Snohomish County Health Department. She noted that a bat flying through a house on its own does not necessarily mean exposure, but waking up to a bat in the bedroom, being bitten or scratched, or handling a bat are all situations that call for medical evaluation and possibly post-exposure prophylaxis.
How Exposure Is Judged
The Washington State Department of Health points out that bats are the animals most likely to carry rabies in Washington. Exposures include bites, scratches, or finding a bat in a room where someone has been sleeping. Because bat bites can be very small and may not hurt, health officials say they often take a cautious approach and recommend evaluation whenever there is a reasonable chance of contact.
What To Do If You Find A Bat
Officials say people should avoid handling bats with bare hands and should only try to capture a bat if it may have had contact with a person or pet, since that bat could need testing to rule out rabies. To keep bats out of the house, tips include sealing small openings, capping chimneys, and making sure doors and window screens are in good repair, while pet owners are urged to keep rabies vaccinations up to date. If you think there has been an exposure, call the Snohomish County Health Department at 425-339-3503, local reporting noted; HeraldNet has the county’s full guidance.
Why It Matters
Fewer than 1% of wild bats carry the rabies virus, but because rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, fast post-exposure treatment is critical. The regimen, which includes a dose of human rabies immune globulin and a series of rabies vaccine shots, is highly effective when given quickly, KIRO 7 reported. FOX 13 Seattle also posted a short video of the May 31 health-department update that lays out the response and recommendations.
