Gladwyne Bat Tests Positive for Rabies, County Says

A Gladwyne bat captured at a home on the 700 block of Mill Creek Road tested positive for rabies, according to a Tuesday press release from Lower Merion Township.

The release goes on to say:

All contacts with bats should be reported to the Montgomery County Health Department at 610-278-5117. Bats can bite when you are asleep and leave hardly any telltale signs of a bite. If you find a bat in your home, it is best to seclude it in a room and have authorities capture and test it.

Testing a captured animal – alive or dead – is important. If a bat is freed from an enclosed home or disposed of, it must be assumed that anyone living there was bitten and infected.

“Anyone that has been bitten, scratched or had saliva exposure by a bat must receive treatment to prevent this fatal disease,” the County said, in a statement. “If you, someone in your household, or any of your pets have possibly had contact with a bat or any other stray or wild animal, immediately call the Montgomery County Health Department, Division of Communicable Disease Control at (610) 278-5117.” 

Check back with Bryn Mawr-Gladwyne Patch for more information.