A woman who worked in Merced County has died after being bitten by a bat and suffering from a subsequent rabies infection, Fresno public health officials confirmed Tuesday.
Health officials did not release the woman’s name Tuesday. ABC 30 identified her as Leah Seneng, 60, a teacher at Byrant Middle School in Dos Palos.
Fresno County Public Health Department officials said during a news conference Tuesday Seneng worked in Merced County but was a Fresno County resident.
The bat bit Seneng in mid October. She arrived early last week to an Emergency Department in Fresno, where she was admitted to the hospital and treated for rabies before succumbing to the disease Friday.
Rabies is a serious disease and is almost always fatal if not treated before symptoms appear, according to a news release. It is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals, usually via bites or scratches.
Wild animals, particularly bats and skunks, are a common source of rabies exposure.
The last human case of rabies that occurred in Fresno County was in 1992, according to Dr. Trinidad Solis, Fresno County’s deputy health officer.
“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is really rare, but when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” Solis said. “Unfortunately, there is no cure, so when symptoms develop, there is no treatment. And often when symptoms developed, it is often fatal.”
Symptoms in humans typically don’t develop until four to eight weeks after exposure. Early symptoms include tiredness or a fever, Solis said.
Public health officials say residents should not touch bats, dead or alive.
Bites or scratches from bats often go undetected. Bat bites can be too small to feel or see. Direct contact with a bat, dead or alive, should be reported to your health care provider, whether or not an obvious injury is noted.
Individuals who wake up to find a live or dead bat in the room should also notify their health care provider.
If you have had direct contact with a bat or suspect potential exposure:
- Wash any bite or scratch wounds with soap and water.
- Contact your healthcare provider immediately for evaluation and treatment.
- Report the incident to your local health department for further guidance.
Individuals can report the location of dead bats to the Fresno County Environmental Health Division at (559) 600-3357.
If in Merced County, contact Merced County Communicable Disease Division at (209) 381-1020 or by email at cdreporting@countyofmerced.com, the release said.
The Environmental Health and Communicable Disease divisions will contact the animal control agency of jurisdiction and request to have them pick up the bat(s) and will arrange to have them tested for rabies.
It is also important to protect your pets by ensuring their rabies vaccinations are current. For more detailed precautions or to report an animal bite, please visit the Rabies and Animal Control website at www.fcdph.org/rabies.
For more information about rabies, visit www.cdc.gov/rabies/about/index.html