A bat captured last weekend inside a New Canaan home has tested positive for rabies, officials say.
A nuisance wildlife control operator on July 31 captured the bat inside a Main Street home and sent its body to a state lab for testing, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.
The mammal is believed to have been in a baby’s room, Halm said.
It was the third bat found in a New Canaan home in three days, with another on Riverbank Court on July 29 and one in a nearby Main Street home on July 28.
Asked what the level of concern is, Halm said there’s open question of whether there are more infected with the virus disease.
“I alerted the family with the negative bat, because they are only few doors down, to be very aware, because one would think that would spread somewhat easily among a species that ‘hang’ together,” Halm said.
The family with the rabies-positive bat has a cat that was seen interacting with the bat prior to its capture, she said. The residents were advised to seek medical advice while their cat received a rabies booster and is being observed for 45 days.
Bats are active at dusk and can enter a home by following insects—often without being detected, officials say. To prevent the spread of rabies to humans and domestic pets, as well as to protect the bats themselves, secure the chimneys and flue, and keep windows and doors closed at night.