# Bat Found Between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine in Irvine Tests Positive for Rabies; OCHCA Seeks Anyone Who Touched It > A bat found Sept. 28, 2026 between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine in Irvine has tested positive for rabies; OCHCA is actively seeking anyone who had physical contact with the animal to assess the need for post-exposure prophylaxis. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/irvine-rabid-bat-wedgewood-2026-10-02 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/irvine-rabid-bat-wedgewood-2026-10-02.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/irvine-rabid-bat-wedgewood-2026-10-02 - Status: active - As of: 2026-10-04T08:54:47.022+00:00 - Started: 2026-09-28T23:45:00+00:00 - Cities: Irvine - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** OC Health Care Agency (OCHCA) Communicable Disease Control Division is leading the public health response. Any resident or visitor who touched or witnessed someone else touching the bat is asked to call the agency. **What:** A bat collected from a residential area in Irvine's Northwood neighborhood tested positive for rabies. OCHCA is seeking any individuals who had physical contact with the bat. **Where:** Between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine, Irvine, CA — a residential area in the Northwood community. **When:** The bat was found at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. The positive rabies test result was announced by OCHCA on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. **Why:** Rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. Because bat bites and scratches can be too small to detect, any physical contact is treated as a potential exposure warranting evaluation for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). ## Narrative 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. ## What Happened 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](https://ochealthinfo.com/press/bat-found-irvine-tests-positive-rabies-1) 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. ## Why This Matters Bats are the principal rabies reservoir in Orange County; the agency [typically reports several rabid bats per year](https://www.ochealthinfo.com/rabies). 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. ## What to Do 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](https://www.ochealthinfo.com/rabies). ## Current Status 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. ## Timeline - **2026-09-28T23:45:00Z:** 4:45 p.m. Sept. 28: A bat is found between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine in Irvine and submitted for testing. - **2026-10-02T20:00:00Z:** OCHCA announces the bat tested positive for rabies and asks anyone with physical contact to call the agency. ## Primary sources 1. [OCHCA rabies alert (Oct. 2)](https://ochealthinfo.com/press/bat-found-irvine-tests-positive-rabies-1) 2. [Why bat contact matters](https://www.ochealthinfo.com/rabies) ## Factoids - **OCHCA rabies alert (Oct. 2)** (source_doc) ([source](https://ochealthinfo.com/press/bat-found-irvine-tests-positive-rabies-1)): OCHCA announced Oct. 2 that a bat found Sept. 28 at about 4:45 p.m. between 18 Wedgewood and 28 Whispering Pine in Irvine tested positive for rabies and asked anyone who may have had physical contact with the bat, or who saw someone else having contact, to call the Health Care Agency's Communicable Disease Control Division. The press-release body did not render on a direct fetch; the news-listing excerpt is the text used. - **Why bat contact matters** (definition) ([source](https://www.ochealthinfo.com/rabies)): Bats are the main rabies reservoir in Orange County; OCHCA typically reports several rabid bats a year. A bite or scratch from a bat can be too small to notice, so public health agencies treat any physical contact, or a bat found in a room with a sleeping person or unattended child, as a possible exposure warranting post-exposure prophylaxis. Rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms begin. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.