Castroville Animal Control has notified the public about a dead bat found on Thursday 4/17/25 inside of a residence at the Country Villa Apartments in Castroville, Tx. The bat was picked up by Animal Services of Castroville and submitted for testing and came back positive for Rabies. Another post on social media noted that a raccoon displaying symptoms of rabies was also captured in the City of Castroville recently. We have reached out about this incident but have not heard back on whether or not rabies was confirmed in the raccoon also.
According to a social media post by Castroville Animal Control:
We would like to take this time to remind the public to take the necessary steps to reduce possible transmission of Rabies.
In general, if you find an injured, sick, or dead bat, do not touch it. If you need assistance, contact your local animal control agency or local health department.
Bat bites are not always visible.
Therefore, in situations in which a bat is physically present and there is a possibility of an unapparent exposure, the bat should be captured and submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing. If rabies cannot be ruled out by laboratory testing, people with a reasonable probability of an exposure may be recommended for rabies post exposure treatment (or for domestic animals, a requirement for a booster vaccination(s) and quarantine or euthanasia). Scenarios that may indicate a reasonable probability of exposure to rabies include:
-a child touches a live or dead bat
-an adult touches a bat without seeing the part of the body they touched
-a bat flies into a person and touches bare skin
-a person steps on a bat with bare feet
-a person awakens to find a bat in the room with him/her
-a bat is found near an infant, toddler, or a person who is sensory or mentally challenged.
If you are unable to reach anyone for assistance, recommendations for bat capture are as follows:
-remove any children or pets from the room
-wear leather gloves
-avoid direct contact between the bat and bare skin
-confine the bat to one room by closing the windows and doors
-turn on the lights if the room is dark
-wait for the bat to land
-cover the bat with a coffee can or similar container
-slide a piece of cardboard under the can that has the bat trapped and tape the cardboard directly to the can.
When capturing a bat, avoid striking it if at all possible. Physical trauma can damage the brain and make it impossible to conduct rabies laboratory tests. Do not attempt to freeze the bat as freezing damages the specimen.
If any possible contact between the bat and a person or domestic animal has occurred do not release the bat; and contact your local animal control agency or law enforcement agency to arrange for immediate submission of the bat for rabies testing.
If you are certain no contact between the bat and a person or domestic animal has occurred take the container outside immediately; and release the bat, preferably at night and away from populated areas.
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