A bat tested positive for rabies in Brownsville last week, making it the second case of rabies in Cameron County in little more than a month.

Urging residents to stay away from bats, Brownsville Animal Regulation Care Center supervisor Robert Dippong said the northern yellow bat was found May 3 by a man at the Brownsville Independent School District Administrative Building at 1900 Price Road.

The bat was euthanized and sent for testing, as procedure dictates, and the results came back positive for rabies on May 5, Dippong said.

“there was no human contact or any animal contact,” he said of the situation.

Dippong and Gus Olivares, assistant director of the Cameron County Environmental Health Program, said one in 10 bats tests positive for rabies, so caution is necessary.

“you won’t even know if a bat bit you or not because their teeth are so small,” Olivares said. “What we always tell the public is to stay away from bats. … do not attempt to touch it.”

Dippong said bats with rabies are a seasonal occurrence. he said it is believed the bat found May 3, a species from Mexico, was blown in by recent strong winds.

“this is the second bat in Brownsville in the past two years that comes back positive,” Dippong said.

In April, a rabid bat was found in San Benito.

Rabies is deadly to both humans and animals, and symptoms may not appear immediately.

Dippong said flyers were distributed in the area where the bat was found to alert the public.

State law, he said, has helped make sure pets older than four months are vaccinated against the virus, which ensures human safety, too.

Olivares recommended that anyone who sees a bat call their city’s animal control department immediately. If anyone believes they have been bitten by an animal with rabies, they should seek treatment from their physician.

“Bats are a high risk species. … the bat issue, it’s always there,” Olivares said. “the reason you haven’t seen a case of dogs or cats is because of the amount of prevention that’s out there.”

Brownsville animal control may be reached at 544-7351.