OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A Seattle-area woman is undergoing preventative rabies treatment after she was scratched by a rabid bat near the Ozette Campground last week.
Three Olympic National Park employees who retrieved the bat on Wednesday also are undergoing preventative treatment, said Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
No one was bitten by the bat, she said.
Maynes said she didn’t know the name of the 55-year old Seattle-area woman who was bitten, and she did not identify the park employees.
This marks the second time in the past 12 months that a rabid bat has been found in the North Olympic Peninsula, said Dr. Tom Locke, Clallam and Jefferson County health officer.
“This should not at all be surprising,” he said.
“We’ve known for decades that bats have been the reservoir for rabies in Washington state.
“What we have to remember is that rabies is about 100 percent fatal in humans, but it is also about 100 percent preventable if we know about it and can start the vaccination process,” he said.
