FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A certain level of anxiety and nerves can be expected when parents drop their kids off at college.
However, one parent of a student at Northern Arizona University has a new concern about something in the dorms they didn’t expect.
Fear and frustration are what a Tucson mother is feeling after finding out her daughter found a rabid bat inside her dorm room at NAU.
"There's lots of things to worry about when you send your daughter off to college. You don't figure rabid bats are going to be one of them,” said Pamela Jonikas.
We're inching towards October, but Northern Arizona University has not put up their Halloween decorations early. Bats seen in the dorm are real and according to the NAU sophomore who took initiative calling animal control, the bat she found tested positive for rabies.
Not all bats are immediately dangerous. However, according to the CDC, in the U.S. bats are the most commonly reported animal to have rabies. And most people in the U.S. who die of rabies, were exposed to a bat with rabies.
When Pamela Jonikas's daughter, Evelyn, found a bat in her dorm room she called animal control who caught the bat and confirmed it did have rabies. Since then, Evelyn claims there are at least four other bats in the building. It has not been confirmed if the other bats have rabies.
Evelyn and her mom have been disappointed in the university's response time and action, but say an email was eventually sent out to students.
"She kept calling and saying ‘do you know where these bats are coming from? Are you going to come out here and figure this out?’ And they were very lackadaisical about it,” said Pamela. “My daughter said they finally sent out an email warning the students that there were rabid bats in the building so it took almost a week."
Evelyn and her friends have since gotten rabies shots, but they still have two more to go. Her mom is just hoping, in the meantime, they don't find any more bats.
News 4 Tucson did reach out to NAU. Here is the university’s response:
"NAU and Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) received notice of a bat in Mountain View Hall, which was found and removed and then tested positive for rabies. Following guidance from CCHHS, NAU brought in a pest control specialist for mitigation.
NAU will continue to carefully monitor the situation and follow appropriate mitigation and remediation steps. We are communicating with Mountain View residents and will share guidance and updates as appropriate."
