Fresno County woman dies after being bitten by rabid bat in her classroom

A Fresno County woman died after being bitten by a rabid bat in the middle school classroom where she taught art, according to public health officials and published reports.

The Fresno County Department of Public Health reported last week that a county resident had died from rabies after being bitten by a bat in Merced County.

Health officials did not name the victim, but friends identified her as Leah Seneng, 60, an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in the small Merced County city of Dos Palos, according to reports in the Fresno Bee and KFSN-TV.

Seneng found a bat in her classroom about a month ago, her friend, Laura Splotch, told KFSN. The bat bit Seneng, and although she didn’t show any symptoms of rabies in the following days, she fell ill about a month later, Splotch said.

Four days after checking herself into the hospital, Seneng died on Nov. 22, according to her friend and county health officials.

Describing her friend as a “great explorer” who loved the outdoors, Splotch said Seneng was likely trying to help the bat out of her classroom when it bit her.

Merced County health officials said they were notifying people who may have been exposed as well.

Transmitted through the saliva of infected animals, rabies is “almost always fatal” if it isn’t treated before symptoms appear, Fresno County officials warned. Bats and skunks are common transmitters of the disease.

Health officials said bat bites are often too small to be detected. Anyone who comes into contact with a bat, alive or dead, should report the encounter to their healthcare provider. Anyone who wakes up with a live or dead bat in their room should also report it.