Rabid Bat Bites Boy on Foot at Shoe Store

A rabid bat crawled out from under a rack at a discount shoe store and bit a 6-year-old boy on the foot, officials said.

The incident occurred Tuesday at a Payless Shoe Source. Kern County Animal Control Services workers captured the bat and it tested positive for rabies, said Animal Control Division Chief Denise Haynes.

The virus is potentially fatal, but the boy was undergoing treatment and “doing fine,” said Claudia Jonah of the county health department.

Until this week, it had been more than a year since somebody in the county had been treated for a bite from a rabid animal, Jonah said.