A cluster of three little brown bats sleeping in the walk-in entrance of a cave in an undated image. In San Mateo County, health officials are warning residents after a bat found at Portola Valley Town Center tested positive for rabies, urging anyone who may have touched it to contact a doctor immediately. (National Park Service via Bay City News)

A bat found last week in the Cachagua area of unincorporated Monterey County has tested positive for rabies, county officials announced Tuesday.

The Mexican free-tailed bat was found Sept. 29 in an area southeast of Carmel Valley and animal services investigators determined there was also exposure to nearby pets, which have since been placed under quarantine, according to the county.

The county Health Department has not found any human exposure to rabies from the case but warns that it is a virus that can be fatal in humans and other mammals. The county said skunks and bats are the most common species to test positive, but domestic animals like dogs and cats are also at risk if they interact with wildlife and do not have a rabies vaccine.

More information about the county’s response to rabies is available by calling the Health Department’s Communicable Disease Unit at (831) 755-4521, visiting Hitchcock Road Animal Services’ website or visiting the Health Department’s website.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.