As of Oct. 4, 2026, the OC Health Care Agency's public call for witnesses and contacts remains open following confirmation that a bat recovered in Irvine's Northwood neighborhood tested positive for rabies.

A bat was found at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine in Irvine. The animal was submitted for laboratory testing. On Friday, Oct. 2, OCHCA announced the bat had tested positive for rabies and asked anyone who may have had physical contact with the bat — or who saw another person make contact — to call the agency's Communicable Disease Control Division.

Bats are the principal rabies reservoir in Orange County; the agency typically reports several rabid bats per year. A bat bite or scratch can be too small to see or feel, so public health protocol treats any physical contact — including a bat found in a room with a sleeping person or an unattended child — as a potential exposure requiring professional assessment. Rabies is nearly always fatal once clinical symptoms begin, but is preventable with prompt post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if treatment is initiated before symptom onset.

Anyone who had direct physical contact with the bat, or who witnessed such contact, should contact OCHCA's Communicable Disease Control Division. Official contact information and guidance are available at ochealthinfo.com/rabies.

No additional confirmed exposures or human cases have been reported in the evidence available as of this update. The situation remains active pending completion of OCHCA's contact investigation.