More than a dozen workers at the courthouse in Hardee County got sick Thursday, and they suspect the culprit is bat droppings.
Last month hundreds of bats were found living at the courthouse and now what’s been left behind appears to be making people sick.
“I can’t really describe it for you outside of that it’s just unpleasant,” said David Horton, with the Hardee County Public Defender’s Office.
In August they found hundreds, perhaps thousands of bats, living in the facade at the county courthouse.
Bat droppings left behind by those thousands of bats now appears to be making workers sick.
“Our biggest concern at the Public Defender’s office is our clients, and we wouldn’t want him to be exposed to anything that would be unhealthy,” said Horton.
Judge Jeff McKibben says it was just their second day back in the third-floor courtrooms, and they thought the problem had been addressed.
But on Thursday a pair of bailiffs, along with a handful of workers from DCF and the guardian ad litem program all started all having a reaction.
“We had several employees of the various agencies come down with symptoms,” said Judge McKibben. “Shortness of breath. Irritation in the nostrils.”
In all, 13 people said they were suffering symptoms. Two patients reportedly went to the hospital.
Exposure to fungus spores from dry bat guano can be dangerous. Possibly leading to a lung disease called histoplasmosis.
“We are going to do additional and broader air-quality testing. And then, if necessary, we would bring the remedial people back in,” said Judge McKibben.
In the meantime, they’ve built a bat house outside the courthouse to discourage more bats from entering the building, and the affected courtrooms have been temporarily closed. Giant filters systems have also been brought in to try and clear the air.
With the third-floor shut down until further notice, two judges have had to move their operations next door to the Hardee County commission chambers.
There’s enough room to conduct normal business, but in the second week of October there is a jury trial scheduled, and that could pose some logistical challenges.
Court officials said they hope everything is taken care of before then. In the meantime, people just hope the issue doesn’t spread.
“You know, I think it’s great if they can get the courthouse cleaned up,” said Horton. “We need a courthouse in the county that is functional.”
The State Department of Health office in Wauchula said it is investigating the incident.
Officials said so far no one has reported any ongoing symptoms since Thursday’s incident.
They’ve also reworked the air duct system to reduce the chances of anyone on the other floors of the building from feeling the effects.
“We are not going to place our employees and the public in an area,” said Judge McKibben, “Unless we can be assured that it is healthy.”
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