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Wild bats found at Omaha Zoo, visitors may’ve been exposed to rabies

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July 13th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Visitors to a popular tourist destination in Omaha-Council Bluffs may have been exposed to a dangerous disease, and it’s not COVID-19. The Henry Doorly Zoo held an event over the 4th of July weekend where guests stayed overnight in the aquarium complex. One woman reportedly awoke to find a wild, brown bat near her head. She wasn’t injured but a total of seven wild bats were later caught in the building and one tested positive for rabies.

The zoo is recommending all 186 people who attended camping events that weekend and the last weekend in June seek treatment for exposure to rabies — at the zoo’s expense.