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Woman sparks panicked search after touching rabid bat on Minneapolis street

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Cite

Hussain, Z. (2026, September 21). Woman sparks panicked search after touching rabid bat on Minneapolis street. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/21/us-news/woman-sparks-panicked-search-after-touching-rabid-bat-on-minneapolis-street/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-21 · by Zoe Hussain

Quick Summary

Health authorities in Minneapolis launched a search after a woman touched and handled a rabid bat found on Hennepin Avenue last Tuesday around 12 p.m. The bat tested positive for rabies, prompting officials to locate the woman who had contact with it. She was identified as a 25-to-30-year-old white woman with curly brown hair seen crouching near the bat and placing it in a bag before handing it over. Six days later, she contacted health authorities herself, avoiding further risk of rabies transmission. The incident highlights the urgency of medical attention for potential rabies exposure, as symptoms can be subtle yet fatal if left untreated.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Minneapolis, on Tuesday, health officials found a rabid bat struggling on a sidewalk near Hennepin Avenue. The bat was later confirmed positive for rabies by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). A woman, described as a 25 to 30-year-old white person with curly brown hair and a golden retriever-like dog, was seen crouching near the bat before putting it in a bag. MDH issued flyers and urged her to contact them via 911 if she had any exposure. The rabies virus has a virtually 100 percent fatality rate but is preventable with prompt medical treatment after potential exposure. After six days of searching, the woman contacted health officials on Monday afternoon.

Written for “Rabid Bat Incident Minneapolis” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Rabid Bat Incident Minneapolis
Health · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 19% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
3 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 16258 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Zoe Hussain
92 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 “I would strongly advise anyone else thinking of posting a “joke” along these lines to think twice,” Chitwood wrote on social media.
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Also by Zoe Hussain
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 92 articles by Zoe Hussain →

Topics

CDC Minneapolis Post the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the Minnesota Department of Health

Subjects

the Minnesota Department of Health ORG · 2× CDC ORG · 1× Minneapolis GPE · 1× Post ORG · 1× the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ORG · 1×

Narrative

Authorities had been desperately searching for the mystery woman until she contacted them Monday afternoon — six days after the bat was first found, the department added in an update later the same day.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 Early rabies symptoms may include irritability, headache, fever, double vision, and itching or pain at the exposure site.
2026-09-22 · New York Post
Woman sparks panicked search after touching rabid bat on Minneapolis street · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 3 hedged)

A woman sparked a panicked search after touching a rabid bat on a Minneapolis street, according to health authorities. uncertain
woman → spark → authorities
The bat was discovered last Tuesday around 12 p.m. struggling on a sidewalk on Hennepin Avenue, the Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement. asserted
Department → discover → statement
The flying mammal died and was sent for rabies testing — with results later revealing it was positive for the potentially fatal disease, the health department announced. asserted
department → fly → disease
A woman, described as a 25-to 30-year-old white woman with curly brown hair and a golden retriever-like dog, was seen crouching near the rabid bat and placing it into a bag, officials said. asserted
officials → describe → bag
She then gave the bag to the individual who brought the bat in for testing. asserted
who → give → testing
Authorities had been desperately searching for the mystery woman until she contacted them Monday afternoon — six days after the bat was first found, the department added in an update later the same day. asserted
department → search → update
The creatures can leave tiny, painless, and markless bites, and any other person who has touched the rabid bat should talk with a health care provider as soon as possible for assessment, experts said. asserted
experts → leave → assessment
“If you did not touch or have any contact with the bat, you have no risk of rabies and do not need shots,” the department wrote in a statement. asserted
department → touch → statement
Rabies, which is spread to people and pets through bites and scratches from an infected animal, requires urgent medical attention, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. uncertain
which → spread → Control
The virus is deadly without treatment, but the five-dose vaccine regimen is almost completely effective in preventing death. asserted
regimen → prevent → death
Once rabies symptoms begin, health experts say the virus cannot be treated. asserted
virus → begin → ?
Early rabies symptoms may include irritability, headache, fever, double vision, and itching or pain at the exposure site. uncertain
symptoms → include → site
The terrifying viral illness progresses to severe brain disease and death without intervention. asserted
illness → progress → intervention
Since July, multiple US jurisdictions have reported a surge in human rabies exposures. asserted
jurisdictions → report → exposures
From July through August 2026, the CDC received 17% more rabies-related inquiries than during the same period last year, the agency revealed in a report. asserted
agency → receive → report
The Minnesota Department of Health did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on whether the woman has received rabies shots or begun exhibiting symptoms. asserted
woman → respond → symptoms
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