Wash any bite, scratch or other exposure site very carefully. If possible, capture the bat and arrange for the Health Department to test the bat for rabies. Be extremely cautious when attempting to capture the bat, to minimize risk of further exposure. Since 1980 more people in the United States have been infected with a bat rabies strain than any other strain. Bats infected with rabies may have the virus in their saliva and may transmit the disease to humans and other animals.
Most bats are healthy and contribute to our environment in many ways.
However, rabies has been confirmed in all nine indigenous species of New York bats. The vast majority of confirmed rabies cases occur in the big brown bats. Not all rabid bats act abnormally, but bats that do act abnormally are more likely to have rabies. Immediately arrange with the local health department for the bat to be tested for rabies. If the bat is unavailable for testing, or tests positive for rabies, the pet must be given a rabies booster vaccination within five days.