Lakewood — The scramble to find four children who may have been exposed to a rabid bat has ended happily.
Jefferson County public health officials made up fliers Monday after a group of children threw rocks at a bat last Thursday, and one of the children touched the animal.
While that child — a 9-year-old boy visiting from Pennsylvannia — has begun treatment, health officials wanted to talk with the parents of the other four children.
The fliers were posted in the Willow Lakeshore apartment complex near South Kipling Parkway and West Jewell Avenue where the children encountered the bat.
“Within five minutes, we found the parents of the four kids,” said Nancy Braden, spokewoman for the Jefferson County Department of Health Environment.
The four children are between the ages of 3 and 9. Braden said the four didn’t touch the bat.
The apartment complex maintenance manager found the dead bat and turned it in to the health department. It tested positive for rabies, a potentially fatal infectious viral disease that affects the nervous systems of humans and other mammals.
Bats are common carriers of rabies. Infected bats may show abnormal behavior, such as being active during the day instead of the night.
So far this year, 63 animals have been tested for rabies in Jefferson County, including 30 bats. All of the bats except this one have tested negative for rabies.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
