6-year-old receives rabies treatment after bat bite in Wisconsin

A six-year-old girl was bitten by a rabid bat while climbing a tree in the front yard of her home in Tigerton, Wisconsin, on June 23. Her mother said the child was frozen on a branch when the bat clung to her leg, and her older brothers knocked the animal off and killed it. The family took the child to an emergency department and submitted the bat for testing. Within two days, the Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department confirmed the bat was rabies-positive, and the girl received the first of a four-dose vaccine series.

Health officials said the incident is the first confirmed rabies case in the two counties for 2026. Nick Mau, a health officer, noted that while the counties average about one wild-animal rabies case per year, bites to humans are uncommon. He urged residents, especially those in wildlife-rich areas, to educate children about avoiding contact with wild animals and to assume any wild animal could carry disease.

The Kale family said the experience has heightened their awareness of bats on their property, and they plan to vaccinate their barn cats against rabies. The health department advises anyone bitten or scratched by a bat to clean the wound promptly, seek medical care, and, if possible, capture the animal for testing.