Officials Issue Warning After Rabid Bat Found : Health: The need to vaccinate pets against the illness, which can also be contracted by humans, is underscored. Three cats have been put to sleep this year.

A Camarillo man’s discovery of a rabid bat has prompted county health officials to issue their annual warning about the danger of infected animals and the need to vaccinate pets.

Robert Firestone, 68, a resident of the Lamplighter Camarillo Mobile Home Park, said he found the sick bat, the fourth reported in Ventura County this year, flopping around in his carport Wednesday afternoon.

“I thought it was a leaf, and then I saw it had ears and it started to crawl,” he said. At that point, Firestone called for help.

In what has become a commonplace procedure each spring and fall, the bat was picked up by the county Animal Regulation Department and taken to a lab where it tested positive for rabies. The body of the bat has been shipped to a laboratory in Berkeley so state officials can study it further.

As a result of exposure to rabid bats, three cats have been put to sleep this year.

Dr. Lawrence Dodds, county health officer, said bats found in populated areas during daylight hours should be treated as though they’re infected.

“A high number of bats examined are rabid,” Dodds said. “We don’t find healthy bats.”

He urged caution in handling strange animals that appear sick. “People shouldn’t handle the bat with their bare hands,” he said. “Pick it up with a shovel, put it in a bucket and call animal control.”

The last time someone died from rabies in Ventura County was in 1981, when a man infected in Mexico brought the virus back to the county, health officials said. But, Dodds said, the danger is present each spring and fall when bats migrate between Northern California and Mexico.

During migration, an estimated one of every 1,000 bats becomes infected with rabies. When they become too sick to fly, Dodds said, they simply drop from the sky.

“Where it’s actually found doesn’t really have a lot of significance,” he said. “We get these all over the county.”

So far this year, two rabid bats have been found in Camarillo, one in Ventura and one in Simi Valley. Forty-one bats were examined in 1992 but none were found to be infected, health officials said. In 1991, 52 bats were examined and five were found to be infected.

Kathy Jenks, director of the Animal Regulation Department, said she is expecting an unusually high number of calls about bats this summer because winter rains have spawned a large population of mosquitoes, on which bats feed.

Two of the bats found earlier this year belonged to the species Tadarida brasiliensis, more commonly known as free-tailed bats, said Steve Matson, director of the county Public Health Services laboratory.

Besides posing a danger to humans, the nocturnal flying mammals spell bad news for neighborhood felines apt to pick them up as easy prey.

“Anytime a bat’s found, there’s usually cats around,” Jenks said.

Bats infected with rabies carry the virus in their saliva. Once another animal is infected by carrying the bat in its mouth, the virus can be transferred to other animals and humans.

But because the symptoms of rabies may not appear for weeks or months, immediate preventive measures are required, officials said.

Unvaccinated animals that come into contact with an infected animal must be quarantined for six months, Jenks said. Humans that have come into contact with the infected bat are given shots to counteract the virus. If an owner does not want to keep the animal confined for six months, it will be put to sleep.

Despite public warnings, Jenks said, the threat of rabies is not taken seriously enough.

“Unfortunately, people are a little too complacent,” she said.

FYI * Ventura County health and animal regulation officials recommend the following steps to help prevent exposure to rabies:

* Have your dogs and cats vaccinated. Contact your veterinarian or call the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department at 388-4341 for information.

* Keep your pets at home, especially at night.

* Report stray dogs and cats to the animal regulation department.

* Do not handle or pick up animals that appear to be sick or are acting strangely.