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Health Officials Warn of Potential Bat Exposure at September Salt Shed Show

A file photo of the Salt Shed in Chicago on June 4, 2024. (Joe Hendrickson / iStock)A file photo of the Salt Shed in Chicago on June 4, 2024. (Joe Hendrickson / iStock)

Attendees of the outdoor concert venue the Salt Shed might have been exposed to a bat during a Sept. 12 concert for the band Goose, the Chicago Department of Public Health announced Friday.

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Exposure to bats may put someone at risk for rabies.

While not all bats carry rabies, bats in and around Chicago have been found to carry rabies, according to a CDPH news release. The disease is “almost always” fatal in humans, the news release said.

If you attended the concert but did not have contact with a bat, there are no actions you need to take, according to the public health department, which noted that a bat flying above you is not a risk for rabies.

Below is more detailed information sent out by CDPH about the possible bat exposure:

  • Date: Sept. 12, 2024
  • Time: 5-10 p.m.
  • Location: Goose concert at the Salt Shed, 1357 N. Elston Ave.

CDPH did not immediately respond to questions about how many people were confirmed to be exposed or why the department didn’t alert the public until Friday.

Exposures of concern for rabies transmission by bats:

  • If a bite or scratch from a bat has occurred
  • If a bat has any physical contact with bare skin, in which a bite or scratch cannot be ruled out
  • Note: Bats have very small teeth. Therefore, a bite from a bat may not be felt and may leave marks that are not easily seen.

The health department said it is critical to receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, or rabies PEP, promptly after bat exposure takes place. Rabies PEP is a series of shots that can be highly effective in preventing rabies in those who have been exposed to the virus.

Contact a health care provider as soon as possible to discuss rabies PEP if you attended the concert and were bitten or scratched by a bat, or if you had direct contact with a bat, according to CDPH.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]


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