{"id":411116,"date":"2026-07-24T19:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/411116\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T19:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T19:30:28","slug":"rabid-bat-lands-on-table-at-san-diego-deli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/411116\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabid bat lands on table at San Diego deli"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Lunch with a side of rabid bat.<\/p>\n<p>A rabid bat landed on a munching family\u2019s table at a San Diego deli restaurant this past Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>San Diego public health officials are concerned, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countynewscenter.com\/rabid-bat-startles-patrons-at-vista-restaurant\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">issuing a notice<\/a> to anyone who may have touched the bat that they are at risk of contracting rabies and should call their healthcare provider.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49707602;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40077959\" width=\"883\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/yellow-deli-restaurant-vista-135369235.jpg\" alt=\"The Yellow Deli Restaurant in Vista, California.\" class=\"wp-image-40077959\"  \/>A rabid bat landed on a munching family\u2019s table at a San Diego deli restaurant this past Sunday. Google Maps<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40077960\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hanging-tree-malaysian-flying-fox-135369335.jpg\" alt=\"Malaysian flying fox hanging upside down from a tree branch.\" class=\"wp-image-40077960\"  \/>Bats are the only species to test positive for rabies this year. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>No direct contact with the bat was reported. A diner scooped up the bat with a towel and transported it to the Humane Society in Oceanside, where it tested positive for the highly fatal disease.<\/p>\n<p>The bat is the 22nd to test positive for rabies in San Diego County this year, already beating 2025\u2019s 21 rabid bats. It\u2019s the most confirmed rabies-positive bats since at least 2021, according to county data.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia&#8217;s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Bats are the only species to test positive for rabies this year.<\/p>\n<p>San Diego officials reminded residents:<\/p>\n<p>Respect the space of wildlife, do not touch\u00a0or approach\u00a0bats or any wildlife.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you have direct contact with a bat, wash the exposed area with soap and seek medical advice.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rabies symptoms can take weeks to months to appear, and once symptoms begin, the disease is\u202falmost always\u202ffatal. Prompt treatment\u00a0after an exposure\u00a0is highly effective.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The state hasn\u2019t had a human rabies case since 2024, when a Fresno County resident was exposed to a rabid bat in Merced County. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms are seen but is considered preventable with treatment.<\/p>\n<p>San Diego officials emphasized the importance of bats in the local ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBats play\u202fan important role\u202fin our local ecosystem,\u201d they wrote. \u201cMany species of bats live in San Diego County, feeding on insects such as mosquitos. Other bat species feed on nectar from plants and pollinate them in the process. You may\u202fsee bats occasionally around sunset when they are most\u202factive.\u202f\u202fIt is important to respect wildlife and give wild animals space to play their role in our natural environment.\u202f\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rabies\/php\/protecting-public-health\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fewer than 10 Americans<\/a> die from rabies every year, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear what the bat ordered, but the family hopes the flying mammal is not giving them any leftovers to take home.<\/p>\n<p>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n<p>California Post News: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCaliforniaPost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@CaliforniaPost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@thecaliforniapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Vb6a2IV1NCrL6q2AWq0E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/company\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a><br \/>California Post Sports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/capostsports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capostsports\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">TikTok<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CaliforniaPostSports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/capostsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">X<\/a><br \/>California Post  <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/californiapost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Opinion<\/a> <br \/>California Post Newsletters: <a href=\"https:\/\/email.nypost.com\/#california-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Sign up here!<\/a><br \/>California Post App: <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Download here!<\/a><br \/>Home delivery: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.californiapost.com\/defaultCAP\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up here!<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/california-post\/id6751343487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><br \/><\/a>Page Six Hollywood: <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/hollywood-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lunch with a side of rabid bat. A rabid bat landed on a munching family\u2019s table at a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,1570,4182,24404,74],"class_list":["post-411116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-health","tag-metro","tag-rabies","tag-san-diego"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}