A club in Portland that tests positive for rabies has asked city officials to warn residents to stay away from wildlife.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of rabies in the bat, according to the City of Portland, Maine Tweet.
Rabies is defined as a contagious and fatal viral disease of dogs and other mammals that cause madness and convulsions, transmitted through saliva to humans, for whom it can be fatal. Once in the human brain, the virus multiplies rapidly and causes severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord after which the person rapidly degrades and dies, according to healthline.com.
According to the World Health Organization, 59,000 people worldwide die from rabies every year. All but one percent of confirmed human deaths come from rabies dog bites, but in the United States, vaccinations have reduced the number of cases to just two or three per year.
Signs of rabies in animals include staggering, stumbling, too friendly or unprovoked aggressive behavior. Animals with advanced cases are also ashamed of their mouths.
Anyone who sees a sick or rabid animal should immediately call 911 or their local animal control officer, police said.
