FAQs • Whatcom County, WA • CivicEngage

What should I do if a bat bites or scratches me or if I see one of my children handling a bat?: Contact your health care provider for care of the wound. Contact Whatcom County Health and Community Services at 360-778-6000 during working hours, or at 360-715-2588 during after hours to report the incident. One of our staff will interview you and help to determine what to do next.

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Health - Rabies Prevention

1. What should I do if I am bitten by a dog, a cat or a pet ferret?: Contact your health care provider for care of the wound. Contact animal control and report the incident to them. They can help you to assure that the animal owner quarantines the animal that bit you for at least 10 days to make certain the animal does not have rabies.

2. What should I do if a bat bites or scratches me or if I see one of my children handling a bat?: Contact your health care provider for care of the wound. Contact Whatcom County Health and Community Services at 360-778-6000 during working hours, or at 360-715-2588 during after hours to report the incident. One of our staff will interview you and help to determine what to do next.

3. What should I do if I find a bat in my house?: Try to close the door to the room and keep the bat contained without touching the bat and contact our office. We may need to send the bat to the lab to test for rabies. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) recommends that we consider this an exposure to rabies unless you saw the bat fly through the door and back out. For example if a bat was in your house at night while you and others in the house slept, we cannot rule out that the bat did not expose someone in the home, especially a small child. Contact Whatcom County Health and Community Services at 360-778-6000 or evening or weekends at 360-715-2588 to report the incident. One of our staff will interview you and help to determine what to do next.

4. Can I bring a bat or other animal to your office and have you test it?: No, we cannot accept live specimens. The State Department of Health Laboratory in Shoreline, Washington tests the animals. The lab has very specific rules we must follow before they can test the animals. Our office works through the local veterinary community and animal control officials to prepare animals for shipment to the lab. Contact our office, a veterinarian, or animal control official before you touch the animal of concern. This will help to assure that additional people are not exposed.