Five residents of Gilmer County, Ga., are being treated after exposure and possible exposure to rabies in separate July 4 incidents involving a raccoon and a bat, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The first incident occurred mid-morning Saturday. A couple in their Mountain Creek Hollow subdivision of Talking Rock was attacked by a raccoon. The animal bit and scratched the wife on her leg. As the husband was fending off the raccoon, he also was scratched. The couple went to the hospital immediately, according to the release.
The raccoon then attacked an owner of a nearby home, who kicked it. Two neighbors who were searching for the animal saw the raccoon run out of the garage of the home and shot and killed it.
The raccoon was given to Andrea Martin, manager of Gilmer County Environmental Health, for rabies testing on Monday. On Tuesday, tests came back confirming the raccoon had rabies, she said.
Also on July 4, an incident involving a bat took place in the Coosawattee River Resort community. A man on his front porch discovered a bat in a recessed lighting fixture. He tried to shoo the animal away with a broom, Martin said in the release, but the bat didn't move. When the man's son turned on the light, the bat flew out of the fixture to the back of the house.
Later that night, the wife found the bat dead on the floor of the guest room.
"It is believed this was the same bat that had earlier flown from the front porch to the back of the house and had died while clinging to the doors leading to the back porch from that guest room," Martin said in the release.
After the wife had opened the door going out of the room, the bat had fallen inside without her noticing until she came back into the room. When it was found, the husband cautiously picked up the animal and brought it to Martin for testing Monday. The tests came back Tuesday, confirming the bat had rabies.
Health officials advise residents to be wary of unfamiliar animals exhibiting unusual behavior and report them to animal control or the county environmental health office. If you are bitten, wash the wound with soap and water and seek immediate medical attention, officials said.
The three residents attacked by the raccoon are undergoing post-exposure rabies treatment. The couple exposed to the bat will begin treatment soon, Martin said in the release.
Martin said she doubts the couple involved in the bat incident was exposed to rabies, but as a precaution they will undergo treatment.
Martin and her department also recommended the couple exposed to the bat, who have a house cat, take the cat for a rabies booster shot and keep it quarantined in the home for six months, where it will be monitored by health officials.
Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ahoopfer @timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.