Nufactor^® Pharmacist Recounts Scary Bat Encounter While CDC Issues Health Advisory for Nationwide Increase in Rabies Exposures

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Sam Mihelich didn’t know bats have such tiny teeth that a person can be bitten and not even realize it.

Mihelich, a pharmacist, also wasn’t thinking about potentially having been exposed to a fatal disease when he discovered a bat inside a rented vacation home he was enjoying with friends in April 2025.

“Even after I saw that bat sitting on the ground in the living room, I wasn't thinking about rabies at all,” said Mihelich, PharmD, IgCP, CSP — a clinical programs director for Nufactor^®, a specialty infusion company.

But after cutting his vacation short to return to his hometown’s emergency department for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) involving rabies immune globulin shots and vaccinations, Mihelich wants everyone to think about rabies risk as well as know what to do if they find themselves in a similar situation.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also issued a health alert (“Nationwide Increase in Reported Human Rabies Exposures: Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Administration,” Sept. 10, 2026) regarding the nationwide uptick in rabies exposure.

Kentucky Vacation Cut Short

Based in North Carolina, Mihelich and a group of pharmacy school friends decided to rent a cabin in Kentucky for some fishing and golf.

He remembers arriving at the cabin and noticing that the balcony door was open. That door led to the bedroom he would be staying in. While thinking that was odd, he went in and everything appeared normal. Both he and one other friend slept in the room overnight with no issues and went golfing the following day.

However, after getting up early in the morning on the second night to use the restroom, Mihelich walked back to his bedroom, opened the door, and realized something was fluttering in the doorway.

“I didn't know what this thing was. I don't know what I was thinking. It was early in the morning,” said Mihelich, who noted it was still dark outside. “Maybe it was like a large moth or something.”

Since it was almost time to get up anyway, he went downstairs to hang out on the couch and eventually start the day. He didn’t think about the incident until later.

“For whatever reason, it came to me. I was just thinking, ‘Could that have been a bat?’” he said. “You know, I've never seen one before. Is that what that was?’”

While it was still light outside, around 5 or 6 p.m., later that day Mihelich and friends were in the living room when they noticed something on the ground.

“We see a bat just sitting in the middle of the living room floor — not afraid of us at all,” he recalled. “I'm like, wow, okay, so that was a bat in my room. This is crazy.”

For more information on rabies, symptoms and what to do, read “Rabies Preparedness: Plasma-derived Hyperimmune, Immunoglobulin & Vaccine Solutions | FFF Enterprises”

The group of friends found a net, trapped it, and then threw it outside where it lay, unmoving, on the deck stairs for a while. One of his friends mentioned the idea of needing to re-trap the bat and take it to the health department to be tested for rabies.

Mihelich said everyone started doing their own internet research. Someone in the group knew a leading infectious disease doctor in Cincinnati who had been recognized for rabies research. After contacting him, the doctor suggested that the two people in the bedroom with the bat should go receive rabies treatment if the bat couldn’t be trapped and tested for rabies.

“I knew I was sleeping in a room with the bat for at least one night. It could have been two, because this was the second day. I also knew that this bat was not behaving like bats normally behave, so that was enough for me,” Mihelich said. “Because if you get rabies, it's like [a] 100% fatality rate.”

They decided to leave Kentucky a day earlier than planned. Instead of going directly home to his wife and two daughters, Mihelich went straight to the hospital to receive the rabies immune globulin shots (about 6 shots — 3 in each leg). Then he returned multiple times for the interval of rabies vaccines.

He considers himself lucky that one of his friends even mentioned the idea of rabies since it was not a thought that instantly popped into his head. Raising awareness so that rabies becomes more top of mind for people encountering wildlife or suspicious animals is important for Mihelich.

When something like a bat is in an enclosed room, they get scared and can scratch or bite someone who is sleeping in that room.

“It took the four of us kind of thinking through it to reach that conclusion,” he said. “And it’s a matter of life or death. It’s very scary. The whole time driving to the urgent care, I was thinking, ‘I’ve got to get this done. I’ve got to get this done.’”

Rabies Immune Globulin and Vaccines Available Through FFF

FFF Enterprises can help provide your hospital with rabies immune globulin and vaccines. We carry Grifols’ HyperRAB^® and Kedrion Biopharma’s KEDRAB^® immune globulin. We also have Bavarian Nordic’s RabAvert^® and Sanofi’s Imovax^® in stock and ready to ship.

To order, please reach out to our friendly Wow! Customer Care team or your FFF sales representative.

Don’t Wait; Go To The Emergency Department

Mihelich said that now during evening walks in his neighborhood, he doesn’t just think every fluttering object in the sky is a bird. He recognizes a bat’s flight pattern, and he’s more conscientious of their presence.

“Before my bat encounter, I never would have thought anything of it,” he said.

Mihelich stresses that nobody should take a gamble on their health if they also have a bat or other odd wildlife encounter.

“If you get the rabies treatment, there’s a really high chance you’re going to survive. If you don’t, fatality is 100 percent. There’s no way to weigh your options here.”

Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational purposes only and reflects the opinions of the individuals quoted and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of FFF Enterprises, Inc. The content in this article should not be construed as medical or legal advice. Providers and patients should consult applicable state laws, official public health resources, and their own healthcare professionals for guidance on vaccination decisions.