A 60-year-old California art teacher, Leah Seneng, fell extremely ill in November after being bitten by a bat at a Bryan Middle School classroom in Dos Palos one month before. According to the Public Health Department, she died as a result of rabies.
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The tragic death was reported by ABC30. Seneng, described as a wonderful and lovely woman, reportedly found the bat inside the classroom. She then attempted to save it, and she was bitten by the wild mammal. Her close friend, Laura Splotch, who was friends with Seneng for 15 years, talked about the incident. "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," Splotch told the outlet.
"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," Splotch continued.
According to the outlet, Seneng did not initially show any symptoms following the bat bite. According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of rabies can include fever, vomiting, anxiety, hyperactivity, hallucinations, and even partial paralysis. However, a month after the bat bite took place, Seneng fell ill. Her daughter took her to the hospital where she was put in a coma.
"It's just devastating to see her in that state, with all the machines hooked up and everything, it was pretty upsetting and scary," Splotch told the outlet. Unfortunately, four days after getting to the hospital, Leah Seneng died on November 22.
A Tragic Death
Following Seneng's death, Splotch set up a GoFundMe campaign to cover her funeral expenses. "She was a lover of life. She spent a lot of time in the mountains where her mother lived," Splotch said. Splotch later said that Seneng "loved to explore the world" and described her as an explorer.
According to the Fresno County Department of Public Health, there is no public health in connection to Seneng's death. "To date, there has been vaccines administered to both health care workers and household contacts," a Fresno County representative told ABC30.
