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Review
. 2014 Jun 19;8(6):e2867.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002867. eCollection 2014 Jun.

Vampire bats and rabies: toward an ecological solution to a public health problem

Benjamin Stoner-Duncan  1 , Daniel G Streicker  2 , Christopher M Tedeschi  1
Affiliations
Review

Vampire bats and rabies: toward an ecological solution to a public health problem

Benjamin Stoner-Duncan et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Map of the 2011 outbreak area in the district of Imaza, province of Bagua, department of Amazonas, Peru.
The red shaded area highlights the epicenter of the outbreak in the village of Yupicusa. All marked villages have reported recent cases of rabies in humans and/or livestock.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The scope of the problem.
Map of Latin America showing the range of D. rotundus and reported rabies outbreaks attributed to vampire bat bites , –. Aside from a single 1929 outbreak in Trinidad, dates span from 1975 to 2011, with most outbreaks occurring since 1990. Note the high density of outbreaks in northern Peru, department of Amazonas. Sporadic human cases and widespread livestock cases are also reported throughout the range of D. rotundus.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Vampire bat and bites.
(A) Acute care in a local health outpost of a young girl bitten by a bat while she slept. (B) Close-up of bite on girl's head showing typical concave lesion. (C) The common vampire bat, D. rotundus. The central incisors are used to remove a small patch of skin from prey, and anticoagulants in the saliva prevent clotting while the bat laps the blood meal. This feeding behavior allows for transmission of rabies to prey via saliva. (D) Typical bite on the ankle of a cow.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ministry of Health–Peru (2011) Outbreak of rabies transmitted by vampire bats in the district of Imaza, province of Bagua, department of Amazonas. Lima, Peru: Department of Epidemiology.
    1. Schneider MC, Romijin PC, Uieda W, Tamayo H, da Silva DF, et al. (2009) Rabies transmitted by vampire bats to humans: an emerging zoonotic disease in Latin America? Pan Am J Public Health 25: 260–269 10.1590/S1020-49892009000300010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization (2013) Expert Consultation on Rabies. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Headquarters. Available: http://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/85346 Accessed 13 September 2013.
    1. Gilbert AT, Petersen BW, Recuenco S, Niezgoda M, Gomez J, et al. (2012) Evidence of rabies virus exposure among humans in the Peruvian Amazon. Am J Trop Med Hyg 87: 206–215 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0689 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Caraballo AJ (1996) Outbreak of vampire bat biting in a Venezuelan village. Rev Saude Publica 30: 483 10.1590/S0034-89101996000500012 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types