(Santa Ana, CA) – A bat found in Fullerton has tested positive for rabies. The bat was on the stairs near the music building at Fullerton College on the northeast corner of Chapman and Lemon on Friday, April 17th, 2026, at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Anyone who may have had physical contact with the bat or saw someone else having contact with the bat is asked to call the OC Health Care Agency (HCA) Communicable Disease Control Division at (714) 834-8180 during business hours or after hours to determine the risk for rabies. Owners of pets who may have had contact with this bat should contact their veterinarian.
The rabies virus is found in an animal’s saliva and is transmitted to people by a bite from a rabid animal. Although very rare, contamination of the eyes, mouth or an open wound by the saliva of a rabid animal can also transmit rabies. Most cases of human rabies in the United States in recent years have resulted from bat strains of rabies; bats have very small teeth, and their bites may go unnoticed.
Once a person begins showing signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease is nearly always fatal. For that reason, preventive treatment to stop the rabies virus from causing illness is given to anyone who may have been exposed to rabies. Medical assistance should be obtained promptly after an exposure so any wound can be cleaned and preventive treatment can be started. This treatment is safe and effective.
The HCA and OC Animal Care recommend the following actions to minimize the risk of rabies:
Avoid all contact with wild animals.
Vaccinate all cats and dogs against rabies.
Do not sleep with open unscreened windows or doors.
If bats are seen inside the house or other structure, close off the area and contact animal control. Once the bat(s) have been removed, close off any areas allowing entrance into the house.
Do not leave pet food outside where it will attract wild animals.
Immediately wash all animal bites with soap and water, being sure to flush the wound well, then contact your doctor.
Report all animal bites to OC Animal Care.
Potential exposure to a bat or other wild animal should be reported to HCA Communicable Disease Control Division at (714) 834-8180. To report a bat in your home or an animal bite, contact OC Animal Care at (714) 935-6848. More information about rabies is available at the Centers for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/.
When I think of my favorite exports from our northern neighbors, I think of three things: maple syrup, hockey and, since “Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health” was released in 2023, a sensible, data-driven approach to alcohol guidance.
The reason I like the Canadian Guidelines so much is that they discuss risk on a spectrum. They start with the benefits of abstaining from alcohol completely and expand to the significant risks of drinking 7 or more standard drinks in a week (including one drink a day). A standard drink is twelve ounces of 5% ABV beer, (alcohol by volume), eight ounces of 7% ABV malt liquor, five ounces of 12% ABV wine, or one-and-a-half ounces of 40% ABV liquor. These recommendations are lower than previous guidelines and are aligned with the 2025 – 2030 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Most people would assume that completely abstaining from alcohol is probably better for them than consuming it. That said, the actual benefits may be surprising. Though alcohol may decrease the time it takes to fall asleep initially, it also decreases the amount of time spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and increases wakefulness. Abstaining from alcohol allows for better sleep at night and more energy during the day. For some people, including those who are pregnant or in recovery from alcohol use disorder, abstaining completely from alcohol is critically important.
While it may come as a surprise to some that consuming two to three drinks per week raises your risk for developing cancer, recent research demonstrates that alcohol should be recognized as a carcinogen. Alcohol, and the chemicals that stem from its metabolism, damage your body’s cells and even your DNA. If DNA is damaged in just the wrong spot, it can cause cells to multiply out of control – a process we know as cancer. Alcohol use can also lead to hormonal changes which increase certain types of cancer risk. According to the 2025 Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk, alcohol contributes to almost 100,000 cases of cancer each year in the United States alone. Of the 20,000 annual deaths from an alcohol associated cancer, 17% occur in people whose alcohol consumption is within the recommended limit of two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women set by the 2020-2025 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
While some studies previously suggested that mild to moderate alcohol consumption might have some cardiovascular benefit, more recent studies have shown that the risk for hypertension, aortic aneurysm, and certain types of strokes, starts to increase at 7 drinks per week. As the number of drinks per week increases to 14, there are significant increases in risks for respiratory infections, pancreatitis, cirrhosis, injuries – both intentional and unintentional, and premature death.
As April is Alcohol Awareness Month, this is the perfect time to reflect on our own drinking habits with the Canadian Guidelines in mind. Abstaining from alcohol is best but consuming less than 3 alcoholic drinks per week is probably safe. As alcohol use climbs, so does the risk of cancer, chronic disease, traumatic injury, and premature death.
About Dr. Jonathan Watson Dr. Jonathan Watson is dual Board-Certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine and is the Medical Director of Orange County Correctional Health Services. He first discovered his passion for addiction care while working as a case manager in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. He attended Harvard Medical School before pursuing his family medicine training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and then an addiction medicine Fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Watson’s love of teaching has pushed him to maintain volunteer clinical professor roles with UC Irvine’s Department of Family Medicine and Loma Linda University’s Department of Preventive Medicine. Dr. Watson has remained active with the California Society of Addiction Medicine.
(Santa Ana, CA) – The OC Health Care Agency (HCA) invites the community to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at convenient locations throughout Orange County (OC). The public is encouraged to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing potential medication misuse. “Turning in unused medications is a simple step that gives families peace of mind,” said HCA Director, Dr. Veronica Kelley. “Drug Take Back Day reminds us that prevention starts right at home.” This initiative addresses a crucial public safety and health concern and aligns with the HCA’s commitment to the well-being of the OC community by promoting the responsible disposal of medications to prevent misuse and combat opioid addiction. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day serves as a vital reminder of our collective responsibility in keeping our communities safe. To find a convenient Take Back drop-off location, please visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) website at www.DEATakeback.com or call 1 (800) 882-9539. The drop-off service is both free and anonymous. For further information on medication misuse prevention efforts in Orange County or to discover year-round safe disposal options, please visit: www.ochealthinfo.com/adept.
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ABOUT THE OC HEALTH CARE AGENCY The OC Health Care Agency (HCA) is a regional interdisciplinary health jurisdiction and an accredited health department, charged with protecting and promoting individual, family and community health through partnership and coordination of public and private sector resources. Visit www.ochealthinfo.com to learn more about services and resources.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is issuing this Health Advisory to notify public health professionals, clinicians, laboratorians, and people at risk for overdose about increasing reports from U.S. jurisdictions detecting medetomidine in the illegal drug supply and a severe withdrawal syndrome due to medetomidine exposure. Medetomidine (also known as ‘rhino tranq,’ ‘mede,’ or ‘dex’) is not approved for human use but is approved for sedation and analgesia in dogs. Its dextro-isomer, dexmedetomidine, is approved for procedural sedation in humans. Medetomidine has been increasingly detected in law enforcement drug seizures, drug product and paraphernalia samples, and in wastewater samples, with the highest concentrations in the Northeast region. Testing of illegal drug samples and clinical specimens has identified racemic mixtures of levomedetomidine and dexmedetomidine isomers without the preservatives commonly found in medical or veterinary formulations, making diversion of pharmaceutical products unlikely. Since pharmaceutical-grade products contain only dexmedetomidine, these findings suggest medetomidine is being synthesized in clandestine laboratories.
Advisory: Medetomidine in the U.S. Illegal Fentanyl Supply Increasing Risk for Overdose and Severe Withdrawal Syndrome
