Health authorities in Minneapolis are searching for an unidentified woman who was spotted handling a rabid bat, prompting officials from the Minnesota Department of Health to issue public flyers. The incident sparked panic on social media after the bat tested positive for rabies, a virus with an approximately 100 per cent fatality rate if contracted, though it is entirely preventable through prompt post-exposure treatment.

The woman, described as aged 25 to 30 years old, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall with curly brown hair and accompanied by a golden retriever-like dog, was seen placing the bat into a bag on Hennepin Avenue on Tuesday. Bat bites can be extremely small, painless and leave no visible mark, making detection difficult; the incubation period for rabies can range from weeks to months. The incident represents the second confirmed rabies case in Minnesota within a week, following a farm cow in Brown County that tested positive and exposed nine people to the virus.