The Knox County Health Department (KCHD) has confirmed that a bat collected from a Rural Knox County home on October 21, 2025, has tested positive for rabies, marking the first human exposures of the 2025 season. Four individuals were exposed after finding the bat in the home. The individuals are receiving rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), which is the recommended course of treatment following potential rabies exposure.
Currently, the Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting 20 counties with a total of 44 positive bats in 2025.
Rabies is a deadly virus, but it is preventable with timely medical treatment. Bite and scratch exposures from a bat can be very small and my go unnoticed. Knox County residents who find a bat in their home or were in the same room as the bat while sleeping should confine the bat to an enclosed room by closing the door and sealing any gaps at the base with a towel or tape. If the bat is in a main living area and there has been potential exposure to a person or pet, place bucket over the bat, if possible, to contain it. In either situation, residents should contact the Knox County Health Department as soon as possible to arrange for the bat’s collection and potential testing.
Individuals can reduce the risk of exposure to rabies by avoiding contact with bats and wild animals, keeping rabies vaccinations up to date for pets, and bat proofing their home, public health officials state. Any direct contact with a bat should be treated as a potential exposure, even if there is no visible bite or scratch.
The KCHD offers the following tips to protect themselves and their pets from rabies:
- Do not feed, touch, or adopt wild animals or stray dogs or cats.
- Encourage children to immediately tell an adult if they are bitten or scratched by an animal. Teach children not to approach or touch any animal they do not know.
- Report all animal bites to the local animal control.
For more information on rabies, visit the Illinois Department of Public Health Website or call the Knox County Health Department at 309-344-2224.
***Courtesy of the Knox County Health Department***
