An art teacher in California has died of rabies after being bitten by a bat in her classroom.
Leah Seneng, 60, was at work when she noticed that a bat was trapped in her classroom at Byrant Middle School in Dos Palos, which is around an hour’s drive to Fresno.
But as she tried to rescue it and set it free, it suddenly bit her. Around a month later she fell ill and was put into a medically induced coma.
Four days later, on November 22, the married mother-of-one passed away.
Detailing the chain of events, Ms Seneng’s longtime friend Laura Splotch told ABC30 News: ‘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.
‘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.’
Ms Splotch said Ms Seneng didn’t display any rabies symptoms in the days following the attack. The initial symptoms of the viral disease include fever, headache, malaise, decreased appetite, or vomiting.
It was only several weeks later that Ms Seneng’s condition worsened and her daughter took her to hospital.
Ms Splotch said it was ‘devastating’ to see Ms Seneng’s condition deteriorate, ‘with all the machines hooked up and everything, it was pretty upsetting and scary.’
Leah Seneng, 60, who taught art at Byrant Middle School in Dos Palos, tried to rescue a bat in mid-October but it bit her
The rabies virus is transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, including bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes.
Ms Seneng did not think much of the bite, though, and did not seek medical advice following the incident.
Rabies has one of the highest mortality rates of all viruses – nearly 100 percent without a vaccine – with fewer than 20 documented survivors.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health worked with California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate rabies as a possible cause of Ms Seneng’s illness when she was taken to hospital.
Samples collected were submitted to the state’s Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory (VRDL) where evidence of rabies was confirmed.
Following the incident, California Department of Public Health director and state public health officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, said: ‘Bites from bats can be incredibly small and difficult to see or to detect. It is important to wash your hands and look for any open wounds after touching a wild animal, and to seek immediate medical care if bitten.
‘It is always safest to leave wild animals alone. Do not approach, touch, or try to feed any animals that you don’t know.’
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Ms Seneng’s family during this time.
Rabies kills around 70,000 people worldwide every year, though most deaths are concentrated in countries with inadequate public health resources, such as wide-reaching vaccination programs for people and animals.
In the US, fewer than 10 cases of rabies occur each year. That rate was once more than 100 before the arrival of vaccines for people and pets in the late 19th century.
The vaccine can be given after a person is exposed and is 100 percent effective if administered within 48 hours of exposure.
A bat’s fangs are incredibly small and someone bit by the animal may not be able to see the mark, so doctors recommend anyone who has come into contact with a bat receive a rabies vaccine.
While common beliefs about rabies may lead people to think all infected animals are aggressive or show signs of frothing at the mouth, any changes in an animal’s usual behavior can be early indicators of rabies.
A bat that is active during the day, found on the ground, or seems unable to fly should be treated with caution.
Large swathes of California’s bat population have been wiped out since the arrival of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease first identified in New York in 2006.
It causes a white fungal growth on the bats causing their skin to disintegrate over time.
It disrupts their ability to hibernate. When they wake up early, their metabolism revs up and uses up fat reserves stored for winter as they struggle to find food, leaving them malnourished and depleted of energy.
But bats are essential to the environment, keeping insect populations under control, which helps maintain an area’s ecosystem, protect against diseases, and shield crops from pests.
Large swathes of California’ss bat population have been wiped out since the arrival of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease first identified in New York in 2006
Rabies affects bats similarly to how it affects humans.
Once the virus reaches the brain, it binds to nerve cells where it can replicate uncontrollably and rapidly, erupting in a constellation of symptoms starting with fever, fatigue, and headache.
As the infection advances, it leads to respiratory spasms that cause gasping, wheezing, and tightness in the chest.
It also causes spasms in the throat while swallowing when trying to drink water, causing someone anxiety about drinking water, also called hydrophobia. People with rabies typically die severely dehydrated.
Rabies changes a person’s mental status, causing confusion, agitation, and aggression, as well as seizures in some cases. As the disease worsens, paralysis sets in, starting with the limbs.
The infection almost always results in coma and death within a few weeks after the onset if a vaccine is not administered promptly.
Worldwide, dogs are the leading carriers of rabies. But in the US, around 70 percent of rabies infections arise from exposure to bats.
The California Department of Public Health is reminding Californians to be cautious around wild or unfamiliar animals following Ms Senengs death.
If they suspect they might have been exposed to rabies through a bite from wild or unfamiliar animals (especially bats and skunks), they are urged to seek medical attention immediately.