Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Two Children Die from Bat Bites

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

CARACAS, Oct 16 2004 (IPS) - Two Venezuelan children died of rabies last week after being bitten by blood-sucking bats in a settlement on the coast of the northeastern state of Sucre. The boys, ages three and 10, were bitten while they slept, and their parents took them to a health center for treatment ''too late''. The minors were already suffering convulsions, fever and limb numbness, said Ninoska Lozada, head of the Health Ministry's regional epidemiology department.

The health authorities have not determined the exact species of bat that bit the children, but Lozada believes it is probably not native to the area. Bats are the most biodiverse mammal species in the country, with more than 150 types.

Rabies is the oldest known animal virus in Sucre, and its mortality rate is ''almost 100 percent,'' said the expert.