ROCK HILL, S.C. — State health officials confirmed Wednesday that a bat picked up near the corner of Pinewood and Belleview roads in Rock Hill was carrying rabies.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, the animal reached its lab on Oct. 23, and testing came back positive three days later. It marks the eighth rabies case in York County so far in 2026, which leaves the county just one case short of its total for all of last year.
Health officials say bat bites can be so small that people and pet owners never notice them. The agency treats waking up with a bat in a bedroom or tent, or finding one near an unattended child or pet, as a possible exposure.
Residents who think they or an animal touched the Rock Hill bat should call the county Public Health office on weekdays between 8:30 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. Outside those hours, the state line is 888.847.0902, option 2.
Officials also urge people never to pick up a bat or a stray animal barehanded, and to keep a bat that may have bitten someone contained so it can be tested.
Filed under: Rock Hill SC Health News
