Los Angeles County headed for record amount of rabid bat cases
by Brad Matthews · The Washington TimesThe Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is warning residents to be aware of rabid bats, with as many cases confirmed this year as in all of 2025.
As of Monday, which was World Rabies Day, Los Angeles County officials had confirmed 69 cases of rabies in bats they tested in 2026, matching last year’s total.
The county has been recording an increasing number of rabid bat cases each year for about a decade.
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The bat strain of rabies can be spread to people and animals via bites, scratches or bat saliva and body fluid contact with open wounds, eyes, mouth or nose. The disease is “almost always fatal” once symptoms set in, county health officials said in a release.
The peak rabies season coincides with late summer. County officials confirmed 24 rabid bats in August, 32% of all bats submitted for testing by residents, as opposed to a yearlong bat rabies rate of around 17%.
The rabies exposure risk is highest for people when they encounter bats indoors, which is where a third of human-bat encounters occur, county health officials said.
“If you find a bat indoors or think you may have had contact with one, contact your medical provider or Public Health right away. And remember, never touch a bat or any wild animals. Immediately report any bat found indoors, or outdoors if it appears sick, active during the day, unable to fly, or dead, to your local animal control,” Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis said in the release.
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