Brantford daycare reopens after bat with rabies found inside facility

Children returned to a daycare in Brantford after a bat found there tested positive for rabies last week. CTV’s Hannah Schmidt reports.

A daycare in Brantford has been given the all-clear to reopen after a dead bat found inside the building last week tested positive for rabies.

The animal was found inside a room for preschool aged children at Creative Minds Daycare on Aug. 11. The following day, a live bat was also found flying in a stairwell.

Officials with the daycare confirmed the dead bat was handled by a child and a staff member. It was then sent to Grand Erie Public Health for testing.

On Aug. 13, the health unit received lab results confirming the bat had a positive test for rabies.

The daycare was immediately shut down, with a notice on an app used to communicate with parents stating, “This closure will remain in effect until all necessary cleaning and mitigation measures have been completed to the highest standard.”

The email did not include a potential timeline to reopen the facility.

“We will not open until we are confident that the centre is completely safe for all children and staff,” the email said.

Wildlife experts were called to check entry points into the building, complete any necessary structural repairs and get rid of anything that might have been contaminated by the bats.

“A bat only needs an opening the size of a dime and typically [they] like to land on the brick and crawl up the brick and go underneath the overhang or the soffit, or in the case of the daycare, of the flashing that’s up high,” explained Bill Dowd, the CEO and founder of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control.

“We didn’t find any other bats,” he added. “We sealed up the entire perimeter of the building and then installed these devices that we’ve pioneered, called one-way doors, that allow the bats to exit and then they can’t get back in.”

After the changes were made, a public health inspector was called in over the weekend to go through the building room by room to search for any remaining signs of the unwelcome invaders.

“The structural modifications were assessed to ensure that any potential entry or re-entry points were now blocked off,” Dr. Jason Malenfant, Grand Erie Public Health’s acting medical officer of health, told CTV News. “The public health inspector also performed all routine inspections from an infection prevention and control compliance standpoint and all criteria were met.”

Staff at the daycare said they have been working with public health to complete all recommended measures.

“My first priority is the safety of the children,” Vicky McNabb, the owner of Creative Minds Daycare, told CTV News on Monday.

“We’re recommending that when any wild animals, especially those that are known to potentially carry rabies, are found on any daycare/school property, public health should be notified so that we can provide guidance and, if needed, help arrange for testing of the animal,” Malenfant said. “We would recommend that parents and caregivers are kept informed in these situations, by the daycare or by the school programs, that they can make the best decisions for their own child’s health and safety.”

After news of the rabies-positive bat broke, some parents reached out to CTV News to express concern over how the discovery was communicated to families. McNabb called the ordeal a “learning process” and pledged communication would be their focus moving forward.

“Today has been a very supportive day. It has also been a very informative day in the aspect of looking at the things that, as a company owner, that I might have missed,” she said. “Their children are the most important thing to them, and we need to make sure that their children are the most important thing to us.”

Although the dead bat was picked up by a child, public health has not received any reports to suggest anyone was scratched or bitten by the animal. Malenfant told CTV News the overall risk remains low in the region, however, multiple bats have tested positive for rabies within the health unit’s jurisdiction. Some children who attended the daycare are receiving precautionary rabies treatment.

Rabies is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord and is almost always fatal after symptoms start to appear. However, if treatment is received early, symptoms, and the devastating effects of the virus, can be avoided.