San Mateo County Health Confirms Rabies in Bat Found at Portola Valley Town Center

Redwood City - A bat found on October 24, 2025, near the Little People's Park playground at Portola Valley Town Center has tested positive for rabies. Because there is no treatment for rabies once symptoms appear, County Health officials are asking anyone who had physical contact with the bat to immediately contact their medical provider to determine if the exposure requires further action. People who were not in contact with the bat are not at risk. Currently, there are no identified exposed persons or animals.

Rabies is a fatal but preventable disease caused by a virus in the saliva of infected animals. Humans and other animals, including pets, can get rabies if they are bitten by a rabid animal. Another way one can get rabies is when saliva or brain tissue from a rabid animal gets into a break in the skin or in mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose or mouth. This is rare.

Rabies is not spread by being near a rabid animal, petting it, or through contact with the blood, urine or stool of a rabid animal.

According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) rabies is found in about 200 mostly wild animals each year in the state. Rabies infects very few humans. Since 1980, the disease has been reported in 17 people in California. Nationally, around 100,000 people every year are vaccinated against rabies after a potential exposure.

When San Mateo County Health learns of a positive rabies test in an animal, disease investigators determine if anyone has been potentially exposed. Those individuals are contacted and asked to see a medical provider. If the potential exposures can't be determined, County Health posts notices to the public.

In San Mateo County, over the past 11 years, there has been an average of 2 bats per year that have tested positive for rabies. The last positive test in a bat was in 2023. This year, two bats have tested positive, with a second bat discovered in Half Moon Bay on October 24, 2025. Investigators have closed the second case, with no one remaining at risk.

"Encounters with rabid animals in San Mateo County are very rare, but we take every case seriously," said Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana, San Mateo County health officer. "Never touch a bat or other wild animal, even if it looks sick or injured, and keep your pets' rabies vaccinations up to date."

If you or someone you know had physical contact with the bat on October 24, 2025, at Little People's Park at Portola Valley Town Center, please contact your medical provider for assessment.

Bats that appear sick, injured or dead should be reported to the Peninsula Humane Society at 650-340-7022.

For additional information about rabies, please visit the California Department of Public Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Preston Merchant Communications Officer [email protected] 650-867-1661