38 dead after being bitten by vampire bats

[kg4kww]

This has got to be scary for these folks. Remember this could happen here too.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- At least 38 Warao Indians have died in remote villages in Venezuela, and medical experts suspect an outbreak of rabies spread by bites from vampire bats.

Laboratory investigations have yet to confirm the cause, but the symptoms point to rabies, according to two researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and other medical experts.

The two UC Berkeley researchers -- the husband-and-wife team of anthropologist Charles Briggs and public health specialist Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs -- said the symptoms include fever, body pains, tingling in the feet followed by progressive paralysis, and an extreme fear of water. Victims tend to have convulsions and grow rigid before death.

Dr. Charles Rupprecht, chief of the rabies program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, agreed with their preliminary diagnosis.

"The history and clinical signs are compatible with rabies," Rupprecht told The Associated Press on Friday. "Prevention is straightforward: Prevent bites and vaccinate those at risk of bites."

Venezuelan health officials are investigating the outbreak and plan to distribute mosquito nets to prevent bat bites and send a medical boat to provide treatment in remote villages on the Orinoco River delta, Indigenous Peoples Minister Nicia Maldonado said Thursday, according to the state-run Bolivarian News Agency.

Outbreaks of rabies spread by vampire bats are a problem in various tropical areas of South America, including Brazil and Peru, Rupprecht said.

Full Story (http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/08/vampire.bats.ap/index.html)

[k8ceb]

Yes, it could happen here for sure. That sure would be a heck of a way to die. Glad we don't have reports of many bats here in my area. :)

[N7RJD]

I thought they'd turn into vampires.

[kg4kww]

rabies death means a closed casket and most likely cremation.

[kb3laz]

Darn at first I thought this was going to be a thread about my last girl friend.
She thought she was a vampire and trust me she was a bat.:p

[ko0m]

rabies death means a closed casket and most likely cremation.


Why?

'Nuther question for Greg; What did you think of "Six Feet Under"?

[N7RJD]

Darn at first I thought this was going to be a thread about my last girl friend.
She thought she was a vampire and trust me she was a bat.:p

Stop selecting girl friends at closing time. :eek:

[WA6MHZ]

OH what a DANGEROUS world we live in! Not safe to even go outside!

[kb3laz]

Stop selecting girl friends at closing time. :eek:

I dont, in fact I could not do so until recently!
They are mostly people I meet on campus, usually 4 or 5 years older that me.
However my friend Sara and I are giving it a go, oh ya she does not think she is a vampire she knows she is!:D Ah thats just the way I like them.:eek:

[yv6azc]

I thought they'd turn into vampires.

No Ron, they didn’t turn into vampires. They turn into dead bodies. It’s not a joke, it’s a sad episode.

[kg4kww]

YV6AZC you are 100% correct, this is very sad and very dangerous to those who live in the affected area.

What these people on the Zed think, is that this will never happen in the U.S., well dudes it could.

[VE4CFR]

Yes it could, except ...

Most exposures are from pets that have been bitten by a rabid animal and have NOT been inoculated. Since responsible pet owners inoculate their animals this method of exposure is rare. Direct contact with a wild animal that has rabies (bats, racoons,etc) is again very rare as the animals (unless cornered) avoid contact. In those case where animals are exhibiting strange behaviour, they should be avoided. And finally rabies is fatal only if left untreated. If a person exposed reports to the hospital they can be given anti-rabies treatments and in most cases survive.

Rabies is nothing to be taken lightly but neither is it "It can happen here so be afraid, be very afraid" issue either. Rabies outbreaks happen in North America and rarely does anyone die from it.

Jeff

[kc9jwa]

Its sad, darn bats, there is also vampire skeeters , thier bad to im glad they dont have rabies or i would have been rabid alot, wich makes me a vampire.:confused::p

[k4kyv]

The bats don't actually bite with their teeth, but lick the victim. Its tongue is abrasive enough that it makes a small hole in the skin, enough to get at the blood. They usually bite while the victim is sleeping, and the victim is usually never aware that (s)he was ever bitten, until rabies symptoms appear.

This is also a problem with livestock. One measure of prevention is to inject each animal in the herd with warfarin, an anticoagulant commonly used in rat poison. The way it works is that the dose is small enough to not affect a large animal, but is fatal to the bats, which bleed to death after feeding off the blood of the innoculated animal.

[kg4kww]

Yes I agree, the only good bat is a dead bat.
If they can find their cave maybe they can burn them up with a flame thrower.

[kb3laz]

Yes I agree, the only good bat is a dead bat.
If they can find their cave maybe they can burn them up with a flame thrower.

Ah ha I see because you dont like something it must be killed.:rolleyes:

[VE4CFR]

Yes I agree, the only good bat is a dead bat.
If they can find their cave maybe they can burn them up with a flame thrower.


I guess it depends on your circumstances. I am far more worried about West Nile virus than I am rabies. Since the bats here eat ton's of mosquito's that carry the virus, I am considering putting up a bat house.

http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/features/section1/bathouse/bathouse.htm

Jeff

[k4kyv]

Bats are beneficial animals that consume a large quantity of insect pests including mosquitoes, and we should go out of our way to protect them. They don't harm humans unless someone is foolish enough to try to catch one in their bare hands; then they run the risk of being bitten and therefore a high risk of contacting rabies. You are never going to get close enough to a healthy bat to get your hands on it, except maybe while they are sleeping inside a cave or dark loft.

A few years ago I let some boy scouts erect a bat house on my property. I'm not sure any bats ever actually occupied it, but it's there, available if they ever want to use it.

[kg4kww]

Who in their right mind would want a bat house on their property?

Oh yea, someone with bats in the bell free. :D

[kb3laz]

Who in their right mind would want a bat house on their property?

Oh yea, someone with bats in the bell free. :D

Plenty of bats live in the trees outside my house and they have never caused a problem.

[VE4CFR]

Who in their right mind would want a bat house on their property?

Oh yea, someone with bats in the bell free. :D

Well ... if you define "right mind" as educated about bats, then I would and I don't even own a belfry (if I did I might not need a bathouse).

Jeff

[vk4agk]

Strange , me thought "Rabid" is common in peeple over there!

(a very low under-handed jibe at quite a few 'rabid' symptom types pokin around on the net)

:DJust in case you no got it:D

:eek:

[k9kjm]

I too have a number of bat houses up around here, And hope the bats move in.
As already pointed out, Bats consume many more mosquitos than so called "good" birds like purple martins. And mosquitos cause much more harm to humans than bats do. West Nile disease being only one of them.

To make a blanket statement like "The only good bat is a dead one" is simply ignorant.

[kc9jwa]

Plenty of bats live in the trees outside my house and they have never caused a problem.
I wouldnt mind a bat house here, i like em thier cute, they can be rabid and mean if you dumb enough to get close to em knowing they dont like it. Plus keep these vampire sketters away.:D My buddy calls himself the bat i probably should tell him to keep his homies from biting people if they can resist either way.:p

[kb3laz]

I wouldnt mind a bat house here, i like em thier cute, they can be rabid and mean if you dumb enough to get close to em knowing they dont like it. Plus keep these vampire sketters away.:D My buddy calls himself the bat i probably should tell him to keep his homies from biting people if they can resist either way.:p

Bats are more cute when they turn into hot vampire chicks.:D

[kg4kww]

KB3LAZ get your mind out of the coffin.

Vampire Chicks Kill.

These bats need to be delt with, I say send them to Iran.

[kb3laz]

KB3LAZ get your mi9nd out of the coffin.

Vampire Chicks Kill.

These bats need to be delt with, I say send them to Iran.

Well in a way, if you consider undead as being dead, yet you have grasped immortality. Sorry Greg Im not trying to put you out of business.:p

[kg4kww]

The Undead are dead who are not embalmed and have come back to life and out of their coffins via some evil force.

The undead walk the Earth and post on QRZ.

[kb2vxa]

"Remember this could happen here too."

This statement is ludicrous. They're limited to the tropics of South and Central America and Mexico so unless your housekeeper smuggled one into your house you have nothing to be concerned about. Haven't you guys anything better to do since your PJ ninny bottle was taken away? Gee, you should have been weaned long ago.

[kg4kww]

VXA, this is real like dude. The dead do walk the Earth.

[kf6rdn]

Its sad, darn bats, there is also vampire skeeters , thier bad to im glad they dont have rabies or i would have been rabid alot, wich makes me a vampire.:confused::p

How do we know you aren't a vampire?
:eek:

[kb3laz]

The Undead are dead who are not embalmed and have come back to life and out of their coffins via some evil force.

The undead walk the Earth and post on QRZ.

Yes they do.
But just because they are undead that does not make them evil, well in my book at least.

[kc9jwa]

How do we know you aren't a vampire?
:eek:
Mmm, cause i only bite my buddys if they annoy me, or i need blood.:D