Bat at Hayward mall found to be rabid, health officials warn

A rabid bat was found at the Southland Mall in Hayward in early February. A rabid bat was found at the Southland Mall in Hayward in early February. Photo: Boston P. / Yelp Photo: Boston P. / Yelp Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Bat at Hayward mall found to be rabid, health officials warn 1 / 34 Back to Gallery

A bat found in a Hayward mall earlier this month was rabid, say Alameda County Public Health Department officials.

The bat, caught by Hayward Animal Control on Feb. 5, was taken from Southland Mall to the Alameda County Public Health Laboratory, where it tested positive for rabies.

Now, officials are asking anyone who might have touched the bat or been bitten by it between Feb. 5 and 13 to contact Public Health at (510) 267-3250.

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"A bat bite can be very, very nominal and sometimes people might not even know they've been bitten," says Alameda County Public Health Department spokesperson Sherri Willis. "It's amazing how many people will touch a bat ... That mall is a big mall so we wanted to get the word out about this."

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Most cases of human rabies in the United States are because of contact with bats, according to Dr. Erica Pan, Interim County Health Officer. Due to that, the health department wants to be sure anyone who might have been affected is accounted for.

"We want to define what the exposure is," Willis says, "and that extends to humans and pets."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

