Teacher dies after contracting rabies from bat which bit her while teaching in classroom
4 December 2024, 07:01
A teacher has died after she was bitten by a bat inside her classroom that is believed to have had rabies, the woman's friend have revealed.
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Ms Seneng, 60, found a bat in her classroom in mid-October, her friend Laura Splotch said, when she tried to scoop up the animal and take it outside but it bit her.
The teacher did not immediately have symptoms of rabies following the bite, but she fell ill in the weeks that followed.
She was taken to the hospital, where she was put into a medically-inducted coma and died days later, Ms Splotch told TV station KFSN-TV.
The Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District, in a statement, called Ms Seneng "a dedicated and compassionate educator".
"We were shocked to learn that Leah's passing was related to contracting rabies, most likely from being bitten by a bat and we are cooperating with the Merced County Department of Public Health on their investigation," the statement said.
"We live and work in a community known to have bats and other wildlife around school grounds, and we will continue to help educate our community regarding the dangers associated with coming into direct contact with any wild animal, including bats."
Public health officials are now warning the public about the dangers of bats following the incident, which took place in central California.
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Bats are the most common source of human rabies in the US, despite fewer than 10 people in the country dying from rabies each year.
Merced County confirmed the rabies exposure but, due to privacy laws, did not release the deceased's name.
The California Department of Public Health confirmed that the victim died after contracting rabies.
