'SO RANDOM'

Teacher Dies After Bat Attack in Classroom

Before class started, the teacher discovered the bat and “scooped it up to take it outside,” unaware that it had rabies.

A 60-year-old California art teacher died after being bit by a bat in her classroom, according to officials. Leah Seneng died on Nov. 22, a month after removing a bat from her classroom at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos. Before class started, the teacher discovered the bat and “scooped it up to take it outside,” unaware that it had rabies, friend and family spokesperson Laura Splotch told NBC News. Seneng thought she had just been scratched, and didn’t seek immediate treatment, Splotch said. After not having any symptoms for weeks, Seneng went on Nov. 18 to the hospital, where it was determined that the classroom encounter likely gave her rabies. Her condition quickly worsened and she died four days later. NBC News reported that it was the first rabies death in Fresnno County since 1992. According to the CDC, less than 10 people die each year in the United States. The teacher is survived by her daughter and husband. “It’s very shocking, still, to think that she’s no longer around because of something so random,” Splotch said to NBC News.