For the past 50 years, there have been fewer than 10 human cases of rabies reported each year in the United States. However, any potential rabies exposure should be taken seriously, and bats are no exception.

Bats are the most common species to test positively for rabies, but they are also the most common species tested. According to the rabies surveillance data from the CDC in 2023 (the most recent year for which data was published), bats accounted for 1,298 rabies-positive wildlife samples, followed by raccoons (1,085 positive samples). But when accounting for all bats tested over the year (nearly 24,000 specimens), this means only about 5% of tested bats were rabid. In contrast, 10% of submitted raccoons, 19% of submitted foxes, and 20% of submitted skunks returned positive rabies tests.

It is important to remember that simply being near a bat is not cause for alarm, especially if both you and the bat are outdoors, awake, and behaving normally.

So why are bats most associated with human cases of rabies? One reason is that people often only notice bats when something is wrong. A grounded, lost, or injured bat is much more likely to be noticed than one flying overhead. Another challenge is the difficulty in diagnosing a rabid bat by its behavior. While some rabid bats show the most recognizable aggression associated with rabies, sick bats also often show symptoms of “dumb” rabies, appearing weak and unusually tame. As a result, people may be more willing to approach or handle them.

Unlike bites from larger animals, bat bites and scratches can be small and may go unnoticed or appear insignificant. Unrecognized or disregarded exposure means a person may be less likely to seek medical treatment. For these same reasons, it is also recommended that in addition to known direct contact with a bat, any potential contact — such as a finding a bat in a room with someone sleeping, unattended children, or anyone who could not confidently rule out exposure — should be taken seriously and discussed with your medical health care provider.

Taking possible rabies exposure seriously is important because without treatment, it is deadly. But a clear understanding of how rarely it spreads to people, and what a small proportion of bats are potential spreaders can reduce unnecessary fear of bats and help people make calm decisions that keep them safe.

Bat Conservation International

Because mice are so small if it did get rabies the normal way one does, from a bite, it would have succumbed to the bite wounds already? At least that's what I saw when I was reading up on the close fear of ”I clear mice traps” and suddenly worried.