Fraser Health is advising members of the public who were in direct contact with a bat on July 3rd at approximately 7:45 pm at White Pine Beach in Belcarra to seek medical assistance immediately.

Fraser Health Public Health was made aware of an incident where a group of approximately nine people were handling an injured bat on the floating dock portion of the park.

Image by DanaTentis from Pixabay

As a precaution, Fraser Health Public Health is advising all of these people who were in contact with the bat yesterday to present to their nearest hospital emergency department and be assessed for possible rabies exposure.

In British Columbia, bats are the only natural reservoir of rabies. While the prevalence of rabies among bats is low (less than one per cent of all bats), the health risks of rabies are severe. Fortunately, rabies is vaccine preventable. It is important to seek care as soon as possible after being exposed for prevention treatment to be effective.

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Anyone who has had direct contact with a bat should seek medical assistance immediately so that a public health risk assessment can be conducted.


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