California Teacher Dies of Rabies After Bat Bites Her in Classroom

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reminded Californians to be cautious around wild or unfamiliar animals following identification of rabies in a Fresno County resident who died after being bitten by a presumably rabid bat in Merced County approximately one month earlier. Today reported the resident was a 60-year-old California teacher who died from rabies after she was bitten trying to remove a bat in her classroom.

Deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, with fewer than 10 cases identified each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nonetheless, each year, thousands of people receive preventive treatment for rabies following a bite or other direct contact with an animal with possible rabies.   

Rabies is a serious, deadly disease that can be prevented by avoiding contact with rabid animals and seeking medical care following an animal bite. CDPH urges Californians to seek medical attention immediately if they suspect they might have been exposed to rabies through a bite from wild or unfamiliar animals, especially bats and skunks. The most common source of human rabies in the United States is from bats.

The Fresno County Department of Public Health (FCDPH) and the Merced County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) worked with CDPH and the CDC to investigate rabies as a possible cause of the patient’s illness in mid-November. Samples collected at the hospital where the patient was being cared for were submitted to the state’s Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory (VRDL) where evidence of rabies was confirmed. The individual was hospitalized in a Fresno County hospital after experiencing symptoms and died on Nov. 22.     

“Bites from bats can be incredibly small and difficult to see or to detect,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and state public health officer. “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.”

In September, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that the death of a 65-year-old person was linked to exposure to a bat in western Minnesota in July. The rabies diagnosis was confirmed in September.