WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - An art teacher from Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California died after she got bitten by a bat in her classroom, ABC30 reports.
The Fresno County health officials confirmed the death of Leah Seneng from rabies last week.
The incident occurred when the 60-year-old teacher tried to rescue a bat that she found lying in her classroom in October.
'I don't know if she thought it was dead or what cause it was laying around her classroom and she was trying to scoop it up and take it outside,' her dear friend Laura Splotch said to ABC30.
'She didn't wanna harm it. But that's when, I guess it woke up or saw the light or whatever it swooped around a bit and it took off.'
A month later, Seneng fell ill. Her daughter took her to a hospital, where she died on November 22.
Following the incident, the California Department of Public Health confirmed that a Fresno County resident got bitten by a 'presumably rabid bat' in Merced County.
'The Fresno County Department of Public Health, and the Merced County Department of Public Health worked with CDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate rabies as a possible cause of the patient's illness in mid-November,' the department stated.
'Samples collected at the hospital where the patient was being cared for were submitted to the state's Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory where evidence of rabies was confirmed.'
The agency advised residents to remain cautious and seek medical attention immediately if they have been exposed to the virus via rabid animals.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
