Fresno County health officials confirmed its first human case of rabies since 1992 has claimed the life of a California art teacher.

A rabies exposure in Merced County has now been confirmed as fatal. Last week, the county’s department of public health reported a Fresno County resident had been exposed to the deadly virus in a possible bat bite and was being treated at a hospital. Fresno County’s Department of Public Health on Tuesday confirmed that the person has died.

Health officials are warning Californians of the dangers associated with handling wild animals after a Central Valley art teacher was bitten by a bat inside her classroom and later died of rabies. The woman died late last week,

Although extremely rare, a Central California teacher has died of rabies after a wild bat bit her in a middle school classroom. The 60-year-old Fresno woman, Leah Seneng, found what appeared to be a lifeless bat while she was teaching her Byrant Middle School students back in October.