Maine CDC Is Warning Of Rabid Bat In Portland

Here's an alert (below) from the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a bat that tested positive for rabies in Portland, Maine. The CDC states that rabies is a virus that "affects the brain and spinal cord and can cause death if left untreated." The website says that one of the ways the disease spreads is "when a rabid animal bites or scratches" another animal or a person. It can also pass from the saliva or neural tissue if they come into "contact with a person or animal's mouth, nose or eyes, or enters a cut in the skin." " Rabies is reportedly rare in humans.

WGME is reminding everyone to get their pets' rabies vaccines, if they haven't already.

Also, it seems as though it would be common sense not to touch wild animals; however, the Maine CDC still has to tell people not to do it.