Rabid bat found in Mt. Prospect bar

An unusual discovery was made at a Mount Prospect bar last week: a rabid bat.

Construction workers renovating Bar Louie, at 200 E. Rand Road, the chain's newest and not-yet-open suburban location, observed a little brown bat flying around and clinging to the rafters last week, according to Rebecca Fyffe, director of education and outreach for ABC Humane Wildlife Control & Prevention in Arlington Heights.

The company was called after the bat was discovered, and its staff captured the bat in a net and sent it to Cook County's rabies lab for testing. Over the weekend, it was confirmed that the bat had rabies, Fyffe said.

The rabid bat was the most common type of bat found in attics and homes, Fyffe said.

ABC Wildlife's manager Vito Brancato said they inspected the building and construction area and found no other bats or signs of a roost or colony.

The Cook County Health Department reported an unusually high number of rabid bats in suburban Cook County this year at least 10, seven of which were found in the LaGrange area. But Brancato said it's rare to find a bat in mid-November because most have already migrated south. Usually, when you find a bat in a bright, non-forested place, it's a sign the animal is sick, he said.

Restaurant management told ABC Wildlife staff that none of the construction workers had any contact with the bat, and Fyffe says that means they're not at risk for contracting rabies, a deadly virus that impacts the nervous system.

“There is also no risk to the restaurant's future diners,” Fyffe said. “Merely seeing a bat does not pose a rabies threat.”

The Bar Louie manager could not be reached for comment Monday.

The building being renovated by Bar Louie had been empty for years, and before that was a hotel.

The Cook County Department of Public Health warns anyone who has a bat in the house or sees a dead bat not to touch it, but instead to call their local animal control officer. For more information, see cookcountypublichealth.org.