Homer Glen Bat Tests Positive for Rabies

A Homer Glen bat trapped with the aid of a bucket has become Will County’s fourth confirmed case of wildlife rabies for 2015.

A resident on the 13,000 block of west Little Creek first encountered the bat near the garage of his home. He watched the bat flop into the garage before trapping it with a bucket and notifying Will County Animal Control.

Will County transported the bat by courier to the Illinois Department of Public Health laboratory complex in Chicago late Monday, July 6. A rabies confirmation was received July 7.

Three people reside in the west Little Creek home. No human exposures were documented and no pets live on site.

All four of the 2015 Will County wildlife rabies confirmations have involved bats. The other county cases were confirmed from Joliet, Plainfield, and Frankfort.

Rabies is a usually fatal viral disease which attacks the central nervous system. The virus is present in the saliva, brain tissue, and spinal fluid of an infected warm-blooded animal.

Will County reported 13 bat rabies cases during 2014. Nearly a third of Illinois’ wildlife rabies cases emanated from Will County a year ago.

July, August and September are prime months for area bat exposures. Report any contact with a bat, or other warm-blooded animals to the nearest Animal Control authority as soon as possible. Will County Animal Control is available 24 hours daily at 815-462-5633.