Bat that bit UGA student was rabid

ATHENS, Ga. — Health oficials in Clarke County say a bat that bit a University of Georgia student on campus had rabies.

Health department spokeswoman Sarah Peck said Wednesday that while the bite didn’t break the student’s skin, health professionals considered the bite to be a rabies exposure. She says the student received appropriate medical care.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports that police say the student saw the bat crawling on a sidewalk outside the Student Learning Center early Sunday evening, and the bat bit him when he picked it up.

Peck says Athens-Clarke County Animal Control officers euthanized the bat, which later tested positive for rabies at the state Public Health Laboratory.