Health officials are trying to reach the diners to determine whether anyone needs treatment following possible exposure.
VISTA, Calif. — San Diego County health officials are trying to identify a family after a bat that later tested positive for rabies landed on their table while they were eating at a Vista restaurant.
The encounter happened at about 1 p.m. July 19 at the Yellow Deli Restaurant, county officials said. Another customer used a towel to collect the bat and transported it to the San Diego Humane Society’s Oceanside campus. The animal was later delivered to the county Public Health Laboratory, where testing confirmed that it had rabies.
No one had reported direct skin contact with the bat as of July 23. Still, public health officials said they wanted to speak with the family whose table the animal landed on to review what happened and determine whether anyone had a possible exposure. Officials were also seeking information from other customers who may have touched the bat.
County veterinarian Emily Trumbull said an exposure can occur through a bite or when saliva from an infected animal enters a person’s eyes, nose, mouth or broken skin. Bat bites and scratches can be very small and may not be immediately noticed.
Being in the same restaurant or standing near the animal does not by itself constitute a rabies exposure, according to county health guidance. People who did not have physical contact with the bat are not considered at risk from this incident.
The county said the animal was the 22nd bat to test positive for rabies in San Diego County during 2026. Fourteen infected bats had been identified by early June, prompting officials to warn residents about an increase in encounters between people and bats during the warmer months.
Officials said the larger number of tested animals does not necessarily prove that a greater share of the county’s bat population has rabies. The figures can also reflect how often residents find suspicious animals and submit them for testing. Bats are the animals most frequently found with rabies in San Diego County.
Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. It is preventable when medical care is provided promptly after an exposure, but it is almost always fatal once symptoms begin. Post-exposure care can include wound treatment, a vaccination series and rabies immune globulin for someone who has not previously been vaccinated.
The county advises anyone who is bitten, scratched or has direct contact with a bat to wash the affected area with soap and water for 15 minutes and contact a health care provider. Officials also recommend keeping people and pets away from bats and asking animal-control professionals to collect animals that appear sick, injured or unable to fly.
Health officials continued working to identify the family and determine whether the diner who handled the animal with a towel had any direct exposure. No human rabies infection connected to the restaurant incident had been reported as of the county’s latest update.
Author note: Last updated July 24, 2026.