Rabid Bat Attacks Boy In Payless Shoe Store

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Boy Bitten By Rabid Bat At Shoe Store

Bakersfield, California -- A rabid bat crawled out from under a rack at a Bakersfield discount shoe store and bit a 6-year-old boy on the foot, officials said.

The incident happened Tuesday at a Payless Shoe Source. Workers from the Kern County Animal Control Services Division captured the bat, and it tested positive for rabies, said Animal Control Division Chief Denise Haynes.

The virus is potentially fatal, but the boy is undergoing treatment and "doing fine," said Claudia Jonah, an assistant health officer with the Kern County Department of Public Health Services.

Treatment includes at least one shot of antibodies and five booster shots during the next month, she said.

Until this week, it had been more than a year since somebody in the county had been treated for a bite from a rabid animal, Jonah said.