Vampire Bats Terrorise Brazilian City

Vampire bats are terrorising the city of Salvador in northeastern Brazil, after a man was found dead of rabies after being bitten by a bat in the early hours.


Residents have being advised to sleep with all windows properly shut and to seek medical attention urgently if they have been bitten.

According to Edson Ribeiro of SESAB, the health department of the state of Bahia, over 40 people have so far been treated after waking up to find their bedspread covered in blood.

Two dead bats found in the city have tested positive for rabies. In March, a 46-year-old man died of rabies in hospital in Salvador after mistakenly stepping on a bat while milking his cows in the small town of Paramirim in the southwest of the state.

The farmer only sought medical treatment weeks later, but it was too late to stop the onset of the disease, which is nearly always fatal.

It was the first case of rabies reported in Bahia for the past 13 years.

The state is celebrated for its beaches, national parks and Afro-Brazilian heritage and is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the country.

State capital Salvador was the very first capital of Brazil. But the same historic churches and colonial mansions that attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year are also ideal habitats for the blood-sucking bat.

State authorities are now preparing multi-lingual leaflets and posters to warn foreign tourists of the dangers posed by the bats.

According to Mr Ribeiro, because bat saliva contain analgesic and anticoagulant properties, victims only find out that they have been bitten when they wake up in the morning in blood-stained bedclothes.

Mr Ribeiro says that heavy rainfall in Salvador, coupled with a public awareness campaign, has led to a sharp fall in the number of reported bites in recent days.