A third wild animal has tested positive for the rabies virus in Niagara County this year.
The county health department said a bat captured by a homeowner inside a Youngstown-Lockport Road home in Ransomville was infected with the virus. It was just last week that the department began disseminating the oral rabies vaccine, aerially and by hand, to help prevent the spread of the fatal disease.
When a rabid animal is captured in a residence, any unvaccinated pets must be put into a six-month quarantine or be subject to euthanasia. Vaccinated pets serve as a buffer between rabid wildlife and man.
The Niagara County Department of Health recommends all animal bites or contact with wild animals be reported to its Health Environmental Division at 439-7444 or 439-7430 after hours.
The department will hold its next free rabies clinic on Sept. 14, from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Town of Lockport Highway Department at 6560 Dysinger Road.