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Man dies and 40 people treated for rabies after vampire bats attack humans
A man has died and 40 people are receiving treatment for rabies after a group of vampire bats started feeding off humans.
The attack in Salvador, Brazil, saw victims taking up to find their bed sheets covered in blood, with one man dying from human rabies as a result.
Victims reported being bitten all over their bodies, including on their heels, toes and elbows.
One of the victims, Matheus Andrade, said: “I was bitten three times.
“When I woke up in the morning, I found the bed was wet. It had been raining overnight and I thought water had dripped in. But it was my blood. It was such a shock.
“The wound was tiny but deep, the blood was dark and thick and the area wouldn’t stop bleeding even when I tried washing it off.”
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Disease control teams from Bahia state health authority were tasked with culling the bats to stop their numbers from rising.
Edivalson Francisco Souza, the 46-year-old who died, was milking a cow on a farm in Paramirim when he accidentally stepped on a bat that bit his foot.
He washed the wound but failed to see a doctor and soon began suffering from headaches, nausea, severe anxiety and shortness of breath.
He tested positive for rabies after remembering the incident but it was too late for doctors to administer the vaccine and he passed away shortly afterwards in March this year.
Aroldo Carneiro, who heads the rabies surveillance unit, said the increase in vampire bat numbers was down to deforestation and the destruction of caves, which forces the bats to migrate to the cities.
He added: “The city centre does not have the normal source of food for hematophagous beings (who feed on blood) such as horses and cattle.
“The vampire bats must find an alternative to live so they bite dogs and cats, and when these aren’t available they turn to humans.”
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