Residents urged to avoid bats

The Lake County residents are urged to avoid contact with bats. So far this spring, there have been two reported incidents of rabid bats — one in Beach Park and one in Lake Villa. According to the Lake County Health Department, neither case involved human contact, but six dogs were potentially exposed and several were quarantined. When a human or other mammal is infected with rabies, the virus attacks the central nervous system and the result is almost always fatal. In 2011 three bats in Lake County tested positive for rabies, but there was no human exposure to the bats. Anyone who has direct contact with a bat or notices a bat acting in an unusual manner, such as flying in daylight, or lying on the ground or in your home, to contact the health department’s Animal Care and Control program at (847) 949-9925.