Bat with rabies is third-ever case on the Island 

Lab results for a bat killed by a pet cat came back positive for rabies. 

It’s the third positive rabies case on the Island since testing began in 1985, and local officials said it’s not an indicator of worsening conditions. 

Heather Maciel, Tisbury animal control officer, told The Times that residents notified her on July 26 after their cat killed a brown bat. After collecting the dead bat, Maciel sent the mammal the following day to the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain for testing. 

The test results received on July 28 confirmed the bat carried rabies. Three cats live in the household, and since it’s uncertain which of them were also exposed to the bat, they were all put on a 45-day quarantine. Drew Belsky, Tisbury health agent, said none of the cats showed rabies symptoms, and the owners are “taking precautions and receiving rabies PEP [post-exposure prophylaxis] treatment.” 

Maciel said she regularly sends out bats that come into contact with humans or pets to be tested for rabies, but the most recent case is only the third time it’s been found on the Vineyard. The first two were in 2019, one in Tisbury in February and the other months later, in June, in West Tisbury. 

Rabies is a virus that primarily affects mammals’ brains, and once clinical symptoms appear after a week- to months-long incubation period, the condition is “nearly always fatal,” according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal agency states that bats are one of the leading carriers of rabies. In the rare instance of death from rabies in the U.S., at least seven out of 10 infections stemmed from bats, according to the CDC. Of leading animals that carry rabies, the only other one found on the Island is skunks. 

Maciel said rabies-related deaths are rare because the U.S. takes “extra steps” when exposure occurs, such as booster shots or a series of vaccinations. 

Belsky told The Times that rabies “occurs at low, consistent levels in the bat population,” and that “a positive test reflects that baseline risk rather than a new or increasing threat.” 

“It doesn’t change our guidance to residents,” Belsky said. “It is, however, a good reminder for pet owners to keep their animals’ rabies vaccinations current.”