As of early this week [June 19], county health officials were actively seeking the person or persons who delivered a live rabid bat to the Chino Police Department on June 4.
There is concern that the person or persons are in grave danger of having been exposed to rabies.
The bat, which was in a cardboard box, was left at the police department’s headquarters around 4:30 in the afternoon on Monday, June 4. The county Department of Health subjected the flying mammal to tests, which showed that it tested positive for rabies.
That bat was one of five bats countywide which have since the beginning of the month been determined to carry rabies. Eight rabid bats across the county line in Riverside County have tested positive for rabies.
San Bernardino County Department of Health officials have issued an alert to residents, advising that they stay away from wild or unfamiliar animals.
Rabies is a viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal, although a victim can also be infected by simple contact under certain conditions. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately lodging in the brain.  The early symptoms of rabies in people include fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort. As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia. Rabies is almost universally fatal in humans once the second set of symptoms begins. Therefore it is imperative to seek medical attention as soon as possible after any rabies exposure.