California Art Teacher Dies of Rabies After Bitten by Bat Inside Classroom

An art teacher from California has  died of rabies after being bitten by a bat in the classroom. The incident occurred when the teacher attempted to scoop up the bat to remove it from the room. Fresno County officials confirmed the death of a resident from rabies following a suspected bat bite but declined to reveal the victim's identity.

Leah Seneng, a 60-year-old artist and art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, has been confirmed as the victim who died from rabies after being bitten by a bat in mid-October. A friend of Seneng’s revealed her identity to The Fresno Bee. According to Joe Prado, assistant director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health, Seneng sought medical attention at a Fresno County emergency room last week and was admitted to the hospital on November 18. She passed away on November 22.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that rabies is a fatal yet preventable viral disease that spreads to humans and pets mainly through bites or scratches from an infected animal. Human cases of rabies are rare, with the most recent occurrence in Fresno County dating back to 1992.

The victim’s friend, Laura Splotch, told KFSN that Leah Seneng did not want to harm the bat and was simply trying to scoop it up and move it away from the classroom. Rabies primarily targets the central nervous system, causing severe brain disease and death if medical care is not administered before symptoms appear. According to the CDC, over 90% of reported rabies cases in animals in the U.S. involve wildlife. At least seven of the Americans who have died from rabies in recent years were infected by bats.