Students treated for rabies after bats found in NAU dorm; some living with strangers off campus

By Adam Mintzer

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    FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (KNXV) — Several Northern Arizona University students are being treated for rabies after bats were found in their dormitory.

“A few students were treated following exposure assessments and guidance from CCHHS and their primary care physicians,” an NAU spokesperson wrote in a statement to ABC15.

All students previously living in the Mountain View dorm have since been relocated off-campus. Some are now living with new roommates and one student says his is significantly older.

Matt Allison’s son lived in the bat-infested dorm and said he hasn’t heard much from campus officials.

“Parents got very little communication, and the kids received chaotic communication,” Allison said.

He added that during a visit to his son’s dorm, he saw a bat hanging from the ceiling, humorously naming it “Bruce” after the Batman character.

According to Allison, his son had been seeing bats in the dorm for weeks before the students were forced to move out last Friday, in the middle of midterms.

Alison drove from San Diego to Flagstaff to help his son and his roommate with the sudden move.

He says the whole ordeal has been both time-consuming and costly, adding that families are struggling to receive refunds for expenses like parking passes and meal plans.

“Kids paid $700 for parking, but they no longer have parking where they’re living now,” he said.

A spokesperson said this is not an accurate depiction of what’s happening.

“We have communicated directly with students about processes for refunds and exchanges, and NAU has offered support for moving throughout the process,” a spokesperson wrote.

While some students, like Allison’s son, were fortunate enough to move into new apartments with private rooms, others, like NAU sophomore Julian Herrera, are now sharing space with a man in his 30s.

“It’s not a huge problem, but it’s weird,” Herrera said. “It’s not like living with another student—it’s someone who’s working.”

NAU said background checks were not conducted on the new roommates.

Parents are also concerned about the health risks, as students lived with bats for weeks. Bat droppings can contain spores that cause respiratory diseases, raising further alarms among families.

The university also acknowledged that they had been notified of a captured bat in early September but claimed they had no prior reports of bats inside the dorms.

“Bats and other wildlife are common in Flagstaff. Students were relocated because bats had entered residential spaces where students sleep—an issue first identified in early September that had not previously occurred,” the spokesperson said.

However, some parents remain skeptical.

Allison believes the university knew about the bats before students moved in, recalling his son seeing dead bats in the area last year.

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