Concerns raised over rabid bat found at an Omaha school

A health warning for some Nebraska families after a rabid bat was found on school grounds in Omaha.

The Douglas County Health Department is notifying parents and guardians of students at Morton Middle School that a bat found on the ground outside Morton Middle School on Friday, September 21, 2018, has tested positive for rabies.

The bat was found at dismissal time on Friday. It is unknown how long the bat had been there. The bat was taken to the Nebraska Humane Society and sent to a state lab for testing which determined it had rabies.

A small group of students at the school were observed to be in close proximity to the bat and DCHD is recommending that anyone who had any physical contact with the bat should contact their health care provider as soon as possible. Physical contact may include touching, kicking, or being touched by the bat on any part of their body, regardless of whether they think they were bitten.

It is important that anyone who had physical contact with the bat should begin post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies as the disease is fatal without treatment.

The Health Department is working with the Omaha Public Schools to address the situation. If you think someone in your family may have been in physical contact with the bat, a call to your doctor on Thursday morning would be soon enough to arrange for the needed protection.

Bat bites are often so slight they may not be noticed, but that is enough to infect the individual who has been bitten.

According to the CDC, the rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms.