A Fresno County woman died after being bitten by a rabid bat in the middle school classroom where she was teaching art, according to public health officials and published reports.
Fresno County Public Health reported last week that a Merced County resident died from rabies after being bitten by a bat.
The Fresno Bee and KFSN-TV reported that health officials did not release the victim’s name, but friends said she was Leah Senen, an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, a small city in Merced County. He was identified as 60 years old.
Senen found the bat in his classroom about a month ago, his friend Laura Sprott told KFSN. Sproch said the bat bit Senen, and although he did not show any symptoms of rabies for several days, he became ill about a month later.
Senen died on Nov. 22, four days after being admitted to the hospital, friends and county health officials said.
Mr Sproch described his friend as a “great explorer” who loved the outdoors, and said Mr Sennen may have been trying to rescue him from the classroom when he was bitten by a bat.
Merced County health officials said they are also notifying people who may have been exposed.
Rabies, which is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals, is “almost always fatal” if not treated before symptoms appear, Fresno County officials warned. Bats and skunks are common vectors of this disease.
Health officials said bat bites are often too small to be detected. Any contact with a bat, living or dead, should be reported to a health care provider. If you wake up in the morning and find a live or dead bat in your room, you should report it.
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