Riverside County health officials looking for children seen handling rabies-positive bat

This undated electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows rabies virions, dark and bullet-shaped, within an infected tissue sample. (F. A. Murphy/CDC via AP)

by: Travis Schlepp

Posted: Mar 2, 2022 / 07:59 PM PST

Updated: Mar 2, 2022 / 08:04 PM PST

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Riverside County health officials are looking for two young children who are believed to have been exposed to a bat that tested positive for rabies.

An adult who was in contact with the bat told county Department of Public Health officials that they saw two boys handling the bat in the parking lot of an industrial park at 301 Lincoln Ave. in Corona on Monday around 4 p.m.

Two boys were around the ages of 11 or 12 and were riding bicycles, they said.

The bat was collected and tested by the Riverside County Public Health Department, at which point it tested positive for rabies.

“It is important that these children be seen by a health care provider because the potential for a serious health issue,” said Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung in a press release. “We ask parents and other guardians in the area to talk to their children and see if they might be the ones who handled the bat.”

People who were possibly exposed to rabies are urged to see a health care provider as soon as possible for evaluation.

The parents or guardians of the children exposed to this rabies-positive bat are asked to call the Riverside County Public Health Department at 951-358-5107.