BEL AIR, Md. — Outdoor play still provides exercise for children at the St. Margaret Elementary School in Bel Air even if the gymnasium is off limits after a rabid bat was found earlier this month.
“I heard there was a bat in the gymnasium, but they had it under control, so I was not too concerned,” said Sydney Yates, a parent, who has a child that attends the school.
Health officials also are downplaying the significance of the discovery, although they’re quick to point out the school notified them immediately.
“We do know that on September 1, there was a bat found at the school,” said Ronya Nassar of the Harford County Health Department, “and we received note of the positive case on September 2. On that day, the school was very proactive and sent a message to families letting them know, ‘Hey, this was the case.’”
As for reports that at least one child may have been injured by the bat, health officials will neither confirm or deny it.
“We can’t really like discuss or disclose any potential exposures, like I said, we can just kind of mention that there was a positive bat,” Nassar told us.
The health department later clarified two bats were found at the school. One in the girls bathroom tested positive rabies. A second was spotted in the gymnasium, but was unable to be captured.
Harford County has more confirmed cases of rabid animals this year than any other jurisdiction in Maryland with 22, and of those, this is just the second bat found to be infected.
The overwhelming majority of rabid animals has been raccoons, and health workers are placing 15 thousand baits containing a vaccine in wooded areas of the county to protect those animals from contracting it.
As for bats, they advise homeowners to take measures to keep them from gaining access to your home.
Advice, which St. Margaret is now following realizing the threat they may pose.
“They’re bringing pest control out too as well trying to take a look at the building seeing where a bat could possibly come in,” added Nassar.
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