The only way to verify the presence of rabies is to bring in the animal that did the bite. But per the article, they released the responsible bat. Normally what you'd do in this case is the hospital gives you the rabies vaccine anyway just in case, because the alternative is if the animal was rabid, you die.

Bats are the most common carriers of rabies, and also you should watch out for any wild animal that's too comfortable getting close to a human. Especially more shy ones like raccoons and such.

When I was little I remember rescuing a small bat, brought it around in my hands for a good hour. I guess I was very lucky :/