Last week a sick bat tested positive for rabies after being found in southwest Bend.

The animal — a big brown bat — was discovered in a public space and wasn’t flying, said Eric Mone, Deschutes County Public Health supervisor.

The bat was taken to a veterinary hospital, where it died. Afterward, the bat was taken to the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where it tested positive for rabies.

Bats are the most commonly reported animal for rabies in the United States, though not all bats carry the disease, according to Deschutes County Public Health.

Rabies can be spread to both humans and pets from scratches or bites from a rabies-infected animal.

“Last year we had four (bats) test positive in Deschutes County,” Mone said. “The last one was last year in September.”

To avoid exposure, Deschutes County Public Health recommends avoiding physical contact with bats and keeping children and animals away from them no matter their condition, avoiding hand feeding stray or wild animals, and vaccinating dogs, cats and ferrets against rabies to protect pets and humans.

Bats play a valuable role in the ecosystem, so if you see a bat unable to fly, active during the day or in an unusual location, Deschutes County Public Health recommends taking children and animals to a safe area and calling Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at 541-388-6363 or contact a local wildlife control operator.

If a person or pet comes into contact with a bat or is bitten by an animal, it should be reported to Deschutes County Animal Control at 541-693-6911 or Deschutes County Environmental Health at 541-317-3114.