In a statement shared with Becker’s, Jaf Fielder, president and CEO of Willis-Knighton Health System, confirmed the report.
“Over the past few days, we have received isolated reports of bats inside Willis-Knighton Medical Center,” he said. “Pest control professionals were immediately contacted to handle the situation. They located where the bats were gaining access to the building and sealed the opening. All the affected areas of the hospital have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. No patients or staff members were harmed.”
Bats have the ability to spread infectious disease, including rabies. They are among the nation’s most commonly reported rabid animals and the leading cause of rabies deaths in people in the U.S., according to the CDC.
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