San Diego authorities are searching for woman exposed to rabid bat at zoo

San Diego authorities are searching for a woman who was exposed to a rabid bat at a local zoo after it flew around her, potentially infecting her and one other visitor.

The bat was spotted flying around the unidentified woman in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido late Sunday morning, according to the San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. 

The bat, which is not one of the zoo’s animals, was later caught and found to be infected with rabies.  

A search is now underway for the woman, and another person who may have come into direct contact with the rabid animal, amid fears they were exposed to the deadly virus. 

Visitors to the zoo saw the bat flying around the woman at the Mombasa Cooker, a restaurant in the Nairobi Village area of the park, around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

A park employee caught the bat and handed it over to county health officials, who confirmed the bat was rabid. 

Health officials are now asking for the public’s help in locating the woman who left the park without providing contact information. 

‘We are concerned about the health of this woman and any park patrons who were in direct contact with the bat,’ said Eric McDonald, medical director of the county Epidemiology and Immunization Services branch. 

‘We want to make sure they were not potentially exposed to this deadly disease.’

Officials reassured other zoo visitors who did not come into contact with the bat that they are not at risk of contracting rabies.

Rabies is a deadly virus spread to humans from the saliva of rabid animals including bats, foxes and raccoons. 

It is usually transmitted through a bite but can also be passed through the saliva from the animal coming into contact with a person’s eyes, nose, mouth or open wound.

The virus is fatal if not treated quickly after infection and before symptoms begin to develop. 

It attacks the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. 

This latest encounter is the latest in a string of incidents where rabid bats have been detected in both the zoo and the wider county. 

This year alone, four other rabid bats have been detected in San Diego County. 

In April 2017, a rabid bat was detected in San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

This came after another was detected at the park in September 2016 and a dead rabid bat was found in 2015. 

Anyone who knows the identity of the woman who may have been exposed, or who was at the park and believes they were potentially exposed to the bat, is urged to immediately call the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency at (619) 692-8499.