After a bat swooped into a basketball game in Indiana, the state’s Department of Health is warning people that they can contract rabies if they touch the animal.
After a bat invaded an Indiana Pacers game last week, health officials are urging people who may have come into contact with the animal to seek medical attention.
Everyone was initially amused when the bat was spotted at the game, with coaches and staff members alike trying to catch it. One announcer even did a play-by-play amid the fracas and eventually the "Batman" theme started playing.
The bat ultimately retreated to the rafters and the gameplay continued.
Now, the Indiana Department of Health is issuing a dire warning, saying that anyone who may have touched the bat could have been exposed to rabies.
Just the week before, a few bats swooped during the San Antonio Spurs match with the Brooklyn Nets, delaying the game for about three minutes. Again, everyone scrambled to catch them.
Most famously, Argentine basketball player Manu Ginobili, now retired, snatched a bat out of the air in 2009. He ended up having to undergo a series of rabies shots after catching the animal.
Inside Edition spoke to Dr. Armand Dorian, who said that unless the bat is caught and tested, there's no way of knowing whether it has rabies. To be safe, he recommended getting anti-rabies shots just in case.
So what is it about basketball courts that attracts bats? Experts say the shiny surface of the court looks like a body of water, which is where bats hunt for their favorite food: mosquitoes.
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