BLOOMINGTON - Holy infestation, Batman! An unusually high number of bats found in and around homes in McLean County prompted the county health department on Wednesday to warn residents to care for themselves and their pets.

"During my long tenure in public health, I have never experienced this level of activity within the county," health department director Bob Keller said.

Thirty-nine bats have been collected and submitted for testing within the past two weeks, said the health department's Bree Davis. Nearly all of them were found inside homes or other buildings.

Two of the bats have tested positive for rabies, 25 have tested negative and 12 test results are pending, Davis said.

In addition, five people are receiving post-exposure, preventive rabies vaccine because bats to which they were exposed weren't caught.

During August last year, 18 bats were collected and submitted for testing from the county, Davis said. The two bats that tested positive for rabies last year were submitted in September and October.

Statewide, 40 bats have tested positive for rabies in 13 counties, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Typically statewide, 40 to 60 bats test positive for rabies each year. In 2007, 113 bats tested positive for rabies.

Davis doesn't know the reason for the increase.

While people shouldn't be alarmed, they need to know that bats are prime carriers of rabies, the health department said. Rabies - transmitted from the bite or scratch of an infected animal - attacks the central nervous system and can be fatal without immediate medical treatment to stop the infection.

The health department advised anyone coming in close contact with a bat to seek medical attention and to call Animal Control at (309) 888-5060 to have the bat removed. Vaccinating pets for rabies also is essential. State law already requires that dogs be vaccinated and cat vaccination will be mandated in McLean County beginning in January.