Brazil's 'great' vampire bat, deadly bite

A man died and more than 40 people were hospitalized to treat rabies in northeast Brazil after being attacked by vampire bats, the Daily Mail reported.

This death is the first case of a blood-sucking vampire bat spreading rabies in Brazil since 2004. This is the most terrible vampire bat attack in the region. The incident is believed to be due to the increasing number of bats and their nests near human habitats.

According to Bahia State Health Authority (SESAB), Edwardson Francisco Souza, 46, died of bitten by bats. When he was milking cows at the farm in Paramirim, he accidentally stepped on a rabid bat and was bitten on his leg. After being bitten, he only washed the wound and did not go to the hospital to check.

Mr. Edwardson Francisco Souza, 46, died of bitten by bats.(Photo: DAILY MAIL).

Three weeks later, he was hospitalized for symptoms of headache, nausea, and difficulty breathing. Test results showed that he was infected with rabies but it was too late for doctors to transmit the vaccine. He died shortly afterwards in March 2017.

The SESAB agency immediately issued a warning to the community about the risk of rabies and how to prevent it. Just days after the death, people living in Salvador City, more than 600km from Paramirim, also reported being attacked by this bloodthirsty bat. They seem to have chosen human blood as a new food source.

Vampire bat species are raging in Brazil.(Photo: DAILY MAIL).

Over the past three months, dozens of locals have said they have been attacked by the bat at night. Many wake up discovering that the blanket is covered with blood because of biting the toe, heel and elbow.

One of the victims, Matheus Andrade, who lives in the city center, recounted: "I was bitten three times in two consecutive nights around mid-May. It was not until the second time that I realized I was bitten by a bat. At first, I thought it was because I fell in somewhere while sleeping. The wound was small but very deep and bleeding a lot. '

Bites from bats are small but very deep and bleeding.(Photo: DAILY MAIL).

According to veterinarian Aroldo Carneiro, it is common for people to confuse bites with small scratches somewhere. Vampire bat is a small animal that lives at night, its length when wingspan is more than 20cm. They only live in America and specialize in sucking blood, using sharp teeth to bite their prey.

Carneiro, the head of the rabies surveillance unit, said: "The bite bite does not cause much pain because the bat's saliva has an analgesic and anticoagulant that can help the wound heal quickly." He also stressed that bats attacked people very rarely in Salvador.

Many buildings in Salvador's historic center are deserted to become the habitat of this bat.(Photo: DAILY MAIL).

However, he believes that human destruction of their habitats is one of the factors that make them unable to find food and start attacking human blood. In addition, there are many buildings in Salvador's historic center that have been abandoned, enabling these bats to come and live.

In response to this bizarre phenomenon, the task force of the disease control agencies visited the homes of the attacked. People are noted to be careful at night, close windows, hang nets, block gaps in the roof, .

The watchdog has recently caught 16 bats and test results show that two bats carry rabies virus.