ALBANY COUNTY — A small number of bats in the county have rabies, a fatal viral illness that can be transmitted by a bite of an infected animal.

Because the teeth of bats are so small, there is a risk that, if a bat is in a room with a person who is sleeping or unaware, a bite may have occurred, according to a release from the county executive’s office.

“As the weather cools we find that animals such as bats seek shelter indoors,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy in the release. “It is vitally important that people who find a bat in their home contact the Department of Health to determine if the bat is infected.”   

In these circumstances, it is essential to trap and submit the bat for testing to rule out rabies. If this is not done, the potentially exposed individuals will need to undergo rabies post-exposure treatment, a costly and time-consuming process that includes injection of human rabies immune globulin, along with a series of vaccinations.

To date, 67 individuals have received rabies post-exposure treatment through the county at a cost of more than $158,000. The average cost per person exposed is between $3,000 and $5,000, as the dose of immune globulin required depends on the person’s weight.

In the same time frame, the county has had 195 animals tested for the rabies virus, 11 of which tested positive. A significant number of individuals who received post-exposure treatment would not have needed it had they submitted a bat for testing.

If there is any chance the bat may have had contact with a person or pet, the person or the pet’s owner is advised by the county not to release the bat but rather to call the Albany County Health Department at (518) 447-4620 to arrange to have the bat tested for rabies.

The county outlines these steps to capture a bat:

— If indoors close all windows, room and closet doors, turn on the lights and wait for the bat to land;

— Wearing heavy gloves, cover the bat with a pail, coffee can or similar container; and

— Slide cardboard under the container to trap the bat inside and tape the cardboard to the container.