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California teacher dies after being bitten by a bat inside her classroom
A central California teacher died last month after she was bitten by a bat that presumably had rabies inside her classroom, officials and a friend of the woman, marking the third such fatality in North America in recent weeks.
In the wake of Leah Seneng’s death on Nov. 22, public health officials are warning the public about the dangers of bats, which are the most common source of human rabies in the U.S. Even though fewer than 10 people in the country die from rabies each year, it is almost always fatal if not treated quickly.
Seneng, 60, found a bat in her classroom in mid-October, her friend Laura Splotch told KFSN-TV. She tried to scoop it up and take it outside but it bit her, Splotch said.
Seneng did not immediately have symptoms of rabies but she fell ill weeks later and was taken to the hospital, where she was put into a medically-induced coma and died days later, Splotch told the TV station.
“It’s devastating to see her in that state, with all the machines hooked up and everything, it was pretty upsetting and scary,” Splotch told KFSN.
According to her Facebook profile, Seneng was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California. The Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District, called Seneng “a dedicated and compassionate educator.”
“We were shocked to learn that Leah’s passing was related to contracting rabies, most likely from being bitten by a bat and we are cooperating with the Merced County Department of Public Health on their investigation,” the school district said in a statement. “We live and work in a community known to have bats and other wildlife around school grounds, and we will continue to help educate our community regarding the dangers associated with coming into direct contact with any wild animal, including bats.”
Merced County confirmed the rabies exposure but, due to privacy laws, did not release the deceased’s name. The California Department of Public Health confirmed that the victim died after contracting rabies.
“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,” CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón said in a statement. “It is always safest to leave wild animals alone. Do not approach, touch, or try to feed any animals that you don’t know.”
At least two other people in North America have died of rabies after encountering a bat in recent weeks. Last month, health officials in Canada announced that a child died from rabies after being exposed to a bat in their room. About a week before that, officials announced a U.S. citizen died from rabies after being exposed to a bat in western Minnesota in July.
How is rabies spread and what are the symptoms?
Rabies is a deadly viral infection that attacks the nervous system in humans and animals, causing brain and spinal cord inflammation. It is typically spread to humans through direct contact with the saliva of an infected animal through scratching or biting.
Rabies is commonly found in bats, raccoons, foxes, skunks and some household pets. Without proper and prompt treatment after symptoms appear, rabies is nearly 100 percent fatal in both animals and humans, according to Haldimand and Norfolk Health Services, where the child was admitted.
Treatment has proven to be nearly 100% effective at preventing the disease if someone is exposed, though it must start before symptoms appear.
Bats pose a unique risk because their scratches can be hard to notice due to their small teeth, and bats cannot be vaccinated through provincial programs, health officials said.
If bitten by an animal suspected of carrying the virus, health officials advise washing the wound thoroughly with soap and water for 15 minutes and immediately seeking medical attention.
According to the CDC, the incubation period of rabies may last from weeks to months, depending on the location of exposure, severity of exposure and age.
“The first symptoms of rabies, called prodrome, maybe like the flu, including weakness, discomfort, fever, or headache. There also may be discomfort, prickling, or an itching sensation at the site of the bite. These symptoms may last for several days,” the CDC says.
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Supreme Court turns away challenge to admissions criteria at Boston high schools
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge to race-neutral admissions criteria at three prestigious Boston high schools that aimed to increase the racial and economic diversity of their student bodies.
Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that the schools have since changed the admissions policy, which “greatly diminish[es] the need for our review.” Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, disagreed with the decision not to hear the case.
The challenge came on the heels of the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision that struck down affirmative action at higher-education institutions and said race can no longer be used as a factor in admissions decisions.
Schools nationwide are now weighing how to better diversify their student bodies without running afoul of the Supreme Court’s ruling, and are looking to other factors like zip codes and socioeconomics that can be taken into consideration to achieve that objective.
In Boston, admission to the three so-called “Exam Schools,” Boston Latin Schools, Boston Latin Academy and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, was based on a combination of a student’s score on a standardized test, grade point average and preference. But the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the admissions process, as it became difficult to administer its exam-based process.
Under admissions criteria revised in light of the impact of the pandemic, 20% of seats were awarded based on students’ GPA and the rest of the seats went to students with the highest GPAs from each of Boston’s zip codes.
The admissions process launched in November 2020 and closed in January 2021. Under the revised criteria, 43% of incoming students were economically disadvantaged, an increase from the prior year. Of those admitted to the exam schools, 31% were White, 23% Black, 23% Hispanic, and 18% Asian, according to court filings.
Under the old plan, 39% of invited students were White, 21% Asian, 21% Hispanic and 14% Black.
The criteria was only in effect for one year, and beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, the school system put in place a new plan that relies on grades, census tracts and performance on a standardized test.
In February 2021, the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence sued the Boston School Committee, which oversees the city’s public school system, and superintendent on behalf of 14 anonymous White and Asian students who claimed they applied for admission to the exam schools that fall. They sought to bar the committee from implementing the plan.
A federal district court sided with the school system, finding that the revised admissions criteria did not violate the Constitution and was racially race neutral. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit upheld that decision, finding in part that the Boston School Committee’s use of neutral selection criteria to increase racial diversity was allowed by the Supreme Court.
The coalition appealed to the high court, arguing that the admissions criteria was designed to reduce the number of Asian American and White students who were allowed to attend the three exam schools. The parents argued that under the 1st Circuit’s decision, a school district could “openly target” students based on their race.
“Should the court turn away this case, it will only embolden government officials to continue targeting disfavored racial groups — particularly, Asian Americans,” they argued in a filing.
But the Boston School Committee argued that there is no longer a controversy for the Supreme Court to decide. The admissions criteria at the center of the challenge was adopted for one year when the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to administer its existing exam-based process, it said.
Lawyers for the school district also said the temporary admissions plan was developed and ended before the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision.
“Nothing in this Court’s precedent mandates that a public body be blind to whether its race-neutral policies will have a disparate impact on historically disadvantaged groups, or even help reduce past disparate impacts,” they said.
Alito wrote that the Supreme Court, through its decision not to hear the case, has “now twice refused to correct a glaring constitutional error that threatens to perpetuate race-based affirmative action in defiance of Students for Fair Admissions,” referring to the 2023 case.
The Supreme Court already has been asked to step into two recent disputes over admissions policies at a prestigious Virginia high school and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
In February, the justices turned away a challenge to the admissions criteria at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Administrators said the policy is designed to mitigate socioeconomic and geographic barriers for prospective students.
The high court also said it would not stop West Point from considering race in its admissions process while a legal fight over its policies plays out before a federal appellate court.
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