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A schoolteacher in central California died of rabies after being bitten by a bat found in her classroom, officials and her friend said, prompting public health warnings about interacting with “wild or unfamiliar animals”.
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.
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