Teacher dies after being bitten by bat in her classroom

Friday, December 06, 2024 - A schoolteacher in central California died of rabies after being bitten by a bat found in her classroom.

The woman died at a hospital in late November, about a month after being bitten by a “presumably rabid bat,” the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said, without naming her.

The school district and the teacher’s friend, Laura Splotch, identified her as Leah Seneng, 60.

Splotch said Seneng had been working at a school in Dos Palos when she was bitten, which local media identified as Bryant Middle School.

Seneng was “a dedicated and compassionate educator,” the Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified School District said in a statement cited by the Associated Press.

“We were shocked to learn that Leah’s passing was related to contracting rabies, most likely from being bitten by a bat,” it added, noting that it was supporting the investigation of county health officials.

“We live and work in a community known to have bats and other wildlife around school grounds,” it said, adding that it would “continue to help educate our community” about their dangers.

Splotch told WWNY 7 News that Seneng, who she said was an art teacher and a “lover of life,” had tried not to harm the bat when it was found in her classroom.

“I don’t know if she thought it was dead or what because it was laying around in her classroom and she was trying to scoop it up and take it outside,” Splotch said.

Seneng was admitted to a hospital weeks later and d!ed on Nov. 22, Splotch added. “It was devastating to see her in that state, with all the machines hooked up and everything — it was pretty upsetting.”

Rabies is “a fatal but preventable viral disease,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It mainly affects the central nervous system, leading to “severe brain disease and death if medical care is not received before symptoms start.”

Symptoms can be flu-like and include weakness or discomfort, fever, headaches and brain dysfunction, such as confusion and hallucinations.

Go and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and get the best videos around the country, go HERE>>>