Rabid Bats Cause Concern In Yolo County

WEST SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- A sharp increase in the number of diseased bats has raised concerns of rabies infections in humans, according to Yolo County authorities.

Animal control officials said only 9 bats tested positive for rabies in Yolo County in 2010, but 11 infected bats have already been found this year.

Two women have already undergone treatment for rabies after suffering bites from infected bats.

"She found a live bat and picked it up and it bit her," said Officer Mike Nevis. "The second lady found a bat… went to take it out and it bit her also."

Hundreds of thousands of bats exist in Yolo County, but only a tiny percentage of them are infected, officials said.

Attacks typically happen when people initiate contact with bats; unlike other animals, rabies does not induce aggression in pats.

"When they get rabies, it's a paralytic," Nevis said. "They get sick, collapse and die."

Any residents who encounter bats that appear injured or sick are advised to cover the animal with a box and call animal control. If touched by a human, the bats have to be destroyed to be tested for the disease.