A group of people who spent time at a private retreat in Mendocino County last week are getting the rabies vaccine this.
The Mendocino County health department says that's because there is a concern some of them were bitten by rabid bats.
The Press Democrat says at least seven people reported bite marks after seeing bats come into their cabin in the woods along the south coast in the middle of the night last week.
The group left the windows open because of the heat. The next morning, some in the group noticed tiny wounds that could be bite marks. Apparently, bat bites are small and difficult to see.
The health department won't say exactly where the group was staying or where they were from, except to say they did not live in Mendocino County.
The department said it advised everyone at the retreat to contact the CDC or their local medical provider and get a precautionary rabies vaccine.
The Public Health department is continuing to investigate, "at this time we have no confirmed cases of rabies in animals, nor humans."
The vaccine comes in four parts. One dose is given right away, with additional doses given on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days after the bite.
This is how the health department defines rabies:
Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. The virus is usually passed to humans via the bite of a rabid animal. Occasionally rabies can be transmitted if the saliva of an infected animal gets into a fresh scratch, break in the skin, or contact with eyes, mouth or nose.
Human rabies is rare in the United States, but it is a serious, potentially fatal disease that must be treated shortly after an exposure.