Rabid bat found in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — The discovery of a rabid bat in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood has prompted the city to issue a warning against any contact with bats or other wild animals.

The Chicago Board of Health says a house cat discovered the bat in an apartment near Lawrence and Western Avenues and woke up a man and woman in the dwelling.

The couple saw the bat lying on the floor and trapped it with a bucket, and then called staff from Chicago Animal Care and Control to remove it.

Analysis of the bat’s carcass this week by the Illinois Department of Public Health showed the bat had rabies, and as a precaution the man and woman are undergoing medical treatment — a series of five inoculations spread out over a 28-day period.