Veterinarians are reporting in Olmsted County, MN that they are performing a lot more rabies tests than usual.  This is because more and more people in the area are turning in bats that get into their homes for rabies testing.  The number of submissions this year has just about doubled causing the number of positive results for rabies to increase too.  Normally only one bat a year is tested positive for rabies in the country, but this year three bats have tested positive.  This may or may not have you concerned.  However, Dr. Joni Scheftel, a state public health veterinarian with the Minnesota Department of Health had this to say, ‘We normally test anywhere between 450 to 475 bats a year, so far this year we've tested over 860 bats. So the fact that we have a couple more is really fairly meaningless because our submissions are up so much." The reason these rabies testing submissions are on the increase in the area is because of a tragic story concerning a Monticello, MN man.  He was bitten by a bat infected with rabies and didn’t realize it.  Unfortunately the man developed rabies and later died from it.  Only two other people have developed rabies since 1973.  This recent story in the news is what’s got people turning in more bats than ever to local veterinarians for testing.  However, before you freak out about bats here are a few things you can do to have it properly tested: If you are touched or bitten by a bat the best thing to do is have it tested. You can bring it in live or dead for testing. You can drop these animals off at local veterinary offices or if you are in the area, the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory on their St. Paul Campus.  Call around your local area to see who does testing. If you wake up to a bat in your room you should have it tested.  It’s possible to sleep through a bat bite. If the animal is found to have rabies people can get vaccinated.  In fact, the sooner you start vaccination after the animal attacks the better. Always, always keep your pet vaccinations current and up to date. Source:http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=373368