Rabies-Infected Bat Found At San Diego Zoo Safari Park

SAN DIEGO, CA — County public health officials on Saturday were looking for people who may have come in contact with a rabies-infected bat found at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

The wild bat was found at 2:15 p.m. Sept. 23 in the Africa Tram area of the park, according to the County of San Diego Communications Office. A Safari Park team member saw a bat fall from a roof and land in an employee-only section of the Africa Tram loading area, which is not accessible by the public. The bat, which tested positive for rabies, later died at a rehabilitation facility.

Officials urged anyone who was in the area of the Africa Tram and had direct contact with a bat before 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 23 to contact County Public Health Services at 619-692-8499.

"The wild bat was not one that is on habitat at the Safari Park," officials said in a news release. "Park visitors who had no physical contact with the bat are not at risk for rabies."

The county said officials have detected five rabid bats in 2024 throughout the San Diego region.

There are many species of bats found in the county that feed on insects such as mosquitoes. Other bat species feed on nectar from plants and pollinate them in the process.

Officials advised anyone who comes in contact with a bat to wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and get medical advice immediately.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease that is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. Symptoms of rabies in people can take weeks to months to develop. Once symptoms develop, rabies is usually fatal, but prompt post-exposure treatment following exposure to the virus will prevent the disease, officials said.

"Human rabies is usually fatal without prompt post-exposure vaccine and treatment," said Dr. Ankita Kadakia, the county's interim public health officer. "Rabies transmission can happen from a bat bite or if a bat's saliva comes in contact with a cut or abrasion, or with mucous membranes, such as the eyes, nose or mouth."