Vampire bats on attack in Brazil - 13 dead

[NNN0LHI]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3596691.stm

Bites from rabies-carrying vampire bats killed 13 people in a north-eastern Brazilian state last month, the health ministry said on Friday.

The ministry said the record number of deaths was matched by an increase in bat attacks to about 300.

A programme to vaccinate domestic animals and people deemed at risk will begin in the area next week.

One report suggests scientists believe deforestation may be a factor behind the increase in attacks.

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[boobooday]

1. Thanks for the nightmare!

Yikes.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[DemoTex]

2. I have bats in caves on my mountain property.

They live in caves in a massive rock outcropping about 150 meters up the mountain behind the house. They buzz me when I go outside in the evening. I saw a bat identification book at the Cradle of Forestry store. But how do you ID a critter that flies at night? I don't think they are Vampire bats. However, I do live in Transylvania County, NC. For real!

[kodi]

5. well, the blood sucking ones are republicans.

that's for sure.

[CatWoman]

7. excellennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnt

[NNN0LHI]

6. I think they only come as far north as Mexico? Should have no worries Mac

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Desmodus_rotundus.html

[DemoTex]

8. Easy for you to say, Don!

Ever had a bat wing brush your scalp while you were grilling chicken? I think any bat can be a rabies vector. However, I'm not worried. The CDC says that the number of reported human rabies cases averaged 1.5 a year from 1960 to 1965. That was down from an average of 24 a year in the 1940s. Almost all of those were were transmitted by dog bites.

The CDC website says: Confusion remains about potential exposures to rabies from bats... The diagnosis of rabies in two people who had no known history of a bite, but who worked extensively in caves inhabited by bats, received considerable attention in 1953 (1,2).... Although the aerosol route is considered a possible mechanism of RABV acquisition, few data support such transmission under typical field conditions.... A more plausible hypothesis is that many people may not be aware that a bat bite is a risk for rabies transmission and fail to report it.

Because of the potential contact with bats, cavers are considered at a higher risk for rabies exposure than the general population. Since the 1960s, the recommendation has been that the cavers receive rabies preexposure prophylaxis (PreEP) (5).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no5/01-0290.htm

Lestat, Rummy, and caves. All to be avoided.

[baldguy]

3. Has anybody seen Don Rumsfeld lately?

[DemoTex]

4. He was doing the "Macarena" with blood on his lips. At midnight.

Strange. Wonder if he knows Lestat?