A 31-year-old San Diego man is undergoing a series of painful shots and rabies vaccinations after a bat landed on him following a mud run in Del Mar.
“It’s a little bit surreal. What are the odds of a rabid bat landing on you in the middle of the day?” said the man, who does not want to be identified.
He says he had just finished the Del Mar 5K Mud Run on Oct. 4 and was having a beer at the race site with coworkers when a bat fell from the sky onto him.
He says he “screamed like a little girl” and then yanked off his shirt.
The bat was eventually taken to animal control, and subsequent testing on the bat’s brain by the county health department showed the bat was, in fact, rabid.
The challenge for health officials was then finding the victim, who had left for New York for a few days. He says a friend sent him an email that showed authorities were looking for him.
“There was no doubt it was me,” he said.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is very rare to contract rabies without being bitten. The man is pretty sure he was not bitten, but was not about to take any chances.
“It could be as small as a pin prick, a light breaking of the skin, and you’d be exposed," said the patient. "The CDC explained to me rabies is 100 percent fatal, so it’s pretty much worth it to act like you have it and get treated as such."
He has now started a series of ten shots and vaccinations that will be given over a two week period.
“Day one, I had a total of seven shots. It is pretty painful, but read an article about contracting rabies, and it's much worse than having to have some shots," said the man.
VAVi, who put on the Mud Run released a statement on the incident that read:
"We worked rapidly with the City, Del Mar Fairgrounds and our participants to find the person the bat came in contact with. Safety is our number 1 priority at VAVi when producing events locally and across the country. Within hours we found the person and they're getting taken care of. We appreciate the help the city and media has given us. Once the matter is fully resolved, it will be back to business for VAVi producing fun and safe sports leagues and events."
