Animals test positive for rabies in Cedar Park & Lockhart

CEDAR PARK, Texas - Officials in Lockhart and Cedar Park say animals found in both cities have tested positive for rabies.

The backstory:

Bat found in Cedar Park tests positive for rabies

Cedar Park PD says the bat was found dead on September 16 in the 500 block of Brushy Creek Road.

The bat has since tested positive for rabies.

At this time, it’s unknown how long the bat was in the area or if it had direct contact with people or animals.

If you, your children, or your pets may have had any contact with this bat, please call Cedar Park PD immediately at 512-260-4600.

Skunk found in Lockhart tests positive for rabies

The City of Lockhart says that a dead skunk found in the Summerside subdivision on September 11 has tested positive for rabies.

Officials say that the exposure area is not limited to the pinpoints on the map above.

There are no known human or pet exposures at this time. 

If you or your pets may have had contact with a skunk in this general area, please call Animal Control ASAP at 512-398-4401 ext. 2.

Expert speaks on recent cases

What they're saying:

Founder of the Austin Bat Refuge, Dianne Odegard, said that as long as you use common sense, there's no cause for alarm. 

"People should not be overly frightened of rabies, whether it be from a bat or any other wild animal," said Odegard. 

She says if you see a bat, don't touch it. To get rabies, you have to be bitten or scratched by an infected animal. She says exposure to bat urine, guano, fur or even blood alone won't result in an infection. 

She also says describing bats as a carrier of the virus is a bit of a misnomer. 

"They don't carry the virus in their bodies and do not get sick from it," says Odegard. "When they get rabies, they die from it."

Odegard says when a rabid bat is found, it's generally not a sign that other bats in the area have rabies. 

She says typically, when a bat becomes infected, they go off on their own to die rather than sticking with their colony and infecting others. 

"I think that's a fear that many people have, is that, oh no, there's this bat (that) is rabid. I'll bet there are other rabid bats in the neighborhood," said Odegard. "Generally speaking, (that) is not the case."

Odegard says the majority of bats never get rabies, and dispelling fear around the issue is important because bats play a crucial role in our outdoor environment, acting as a natural form of pest control, something that's important for the agricultural industry. 

"They're under threat from so many different things in our environment right now, including people's fear," she said. 

If you see an animal that could be rabid, you can call 3-1-1, and animal control officers will be sent out. 

If the animal in question is a bat, you can also call the Austin Bat Refuge. Odegard says the team is available 24/7, and they'll work to rehabilitate the bat when possible. 

"We'd like people to give us a call. We're always available," said Odegard. "We're the only bat rehabilitators in Austin, and we are the only alternative to euthanasia for Austin's bats. Austin Animal Services and animal control officers do euthanize every bat that they pick up, and that's something that many people don't know."

Dig deeper:

What is rabies?

Rabies is a preventable viral disease, part of the Mononegavirales family, which can be transmitted to a person after they have been bitten by a rabid animal.  

Animals — usually wild and often not domesticated — that become infected with the rabies virus suffer damage to their central nervous system, according to the CDC.  

The virus will cause disease in the brain of the animal and eventually death.  

Animals that are commonly reported for rabies cases include bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes, but it is possible for any mammal to become infected with the virus. 

"Contact with infected bats is the leading cause of human rabies deaths in this country; at least 7 out of 10 Americans who die from rabies in the US were infected by bats," according to the CDC. 

Rabies in humans

While very rare, rabies in humans that goes untreated is almost always fatal, according to the CDC.  

The first symptoms of a rabies infection in a person start off similar to the flu. The infected person may experience weakness, discomfort, fever, or headache. And depending on where the person became infected, whether it’s a bite or a scratch, they may experience some prickling or an itching sensation at the site.  

These early symptoms usually last for a few days, the CDC website states.

As the virus progresses, the person may experience anxiety, confusion, and agitation and it will continue to worsen from there.  

The virus will eventually lead an infected person to exhibit delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, hydrophobia (fear of water), and insomnia.

Once these acute symptoms of rabies begin to appear, it is almost always fatal and medical care that is received beyond this point is usually just supportive, according to the CDC.

Less than 20 people are known to have survived a rabies infection without receiving the vaccine series.

Rabies transmission

Rabies infections are usually transmitted from a wild animal to a human via a bite. It is also possible for people to get rabies through non-bite transmission such as a scratch or getting infected saliva in an open wound, but this is very rare, the CDC said.  

It is also possible for rabies to spread through the air but this is also extremely rare and usually only lab workers are prone to this sort of exposure.  

It has also been recorded that some people have become infected with rabies after receiving an organ transplant from an infected patient, but again, this is very rare.

Also, the rabies virus becomes noninfectious when it dries out and when it is exposed to sunlight, according to the CDC.

Rabies vaccine

For anyone who owns pets that like to wander the outdoors, getting a rabies shot as a preventative measure is a common practice and is often required by law.

However, for those who have not vaccinated their pets or other domesticated animals with the rabies vaccines, there’s almost little to nothing that can be done once the animal has become infected.

Depending on your state’s ordinance, a pet that has been infected with rabies will either need to be euthanized immediately or kept in isolation for several months before a decision can be made to put the animal down.

For most people, coming into contact with infected wildlife is rare and the typical course of action, if one does get bitten by a rabid animal, is to receive a series of rabies vaccines, also known as postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). This course of action must be taken between 24 to 48 hours after a bite or attack.  

The PEP consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine given on the day of the rabies exposure, and then a dose of vaccine given again on days 3, 7, and 14.  

But there are some exceptions for humans to receive a rabies vaccine series before potential exposure and that usually includes people who work directly with animals and wildlife or have to travel to parts of the world where medical attention is sparse and wild animals are common.

This vaccine series is known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and depending on how high-risk a person’s exposure level is, they can receive anywhere from two doses every six months to receiving a booster dose every three years.