MINNEAPOLIMEDIA COMMUNITY HEALTH | Woman Located After Rabid Bat Was Found on Downtown Minneapolis Sidewalk

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (September 22, 2026). A woman seen handling a bat that later tested positive for rabies has contacted the Minnesota Department of Health, ending a public search but leaving health officials asking anyone else who touched the animal to seek medical guidance.

The bat was discovered around noon September 15 on a sidewalk along Hennepin Avenue between Washington Avenue and Third Street, near the Minneapolis Central Library.

Witness information indicated that a woman accompanied by a dog crouched near the struggling bat and placed it into a bag. Health officials posted notices in the area seeking the woman because direct contact with a rabid animal can require immediate preventive treatment.

The Department of Health announced Monday afternoon that the woman had contacted the agency. Officials did not release her identity or disclose whether she had begun post-exposure treatment.

Anyone else who may have touched the bat should contact a health-care provider or the Minnesota Department of Health at 651-201-5414.

People who merely saw the bat but did not touch it are not considered at risk.

Rabies is transmitted through saliva and nervous-system tissue from an infected animal. Exposure commonly occurs through a bite, but scratches or saliva entering an open wound or mucous membrane can also present a risk.

Bat bites can be extremely small, may not be painful and sometimes leave no visible mark. Public-health officials therefore advise people against handling bats with bare hands, even when the animal appears injured or unable to fly.

Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal. Treatment administered promptly after a suspected exposure is highly effective at preventing the disease.

The downtown discovery was not the first rabid bat reported in a heavily populated Twin Cities area. A rabid bat was found in downtown Minneapolis in 2019, and another was discovered near Como Lake in Saint Paul in 2018.

Minnesota recorded a fatal human rabies case in 2024 involving a person exposed to a bat in western Minnesota.

The Minneapolis case also followed an unrelated rabies detection in a Brown County cow. Health officials recommended preventive treatment for nine people who had contact with that animal.

Residents who find a bat inside a home, particularly in a room where someone was sleeping, should avoid releasing or destroying the animal before consulting health authorities. Capturing the bat safely for testing can help determine whether medical treatment is necessary.

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