- LIMA (AFP) - At least 12
Peruvian children have died of rabies after being bitten by bats in a remote
Amazon province of Peru, a health official said.
The children, all of whom were under six years old, were attacked by bats
between September and January in the Condorcanqui province bordering Ecuador,
860 kilometers (534 miles) northeast of Lima, said doctor Jorge Escobar,
a provincial health official.
Another 2,300 people have been bitten by bats in the province, Escobar
said.
The Health Ministry has designated the province a health emergency zone,
launching a massive vaccination campaign in the region.
But the children who were killed were from native Aguaruna and Huambisa
cultures that usually oppose modern medicine.
Health officials have to overcome the natives' religious beliefs before
convincing them to take the vaccines, Escobar said.
Health officials are also trying to capture bats to spray them with anti-bacterial
agents, he said.
Bat bite cases are appearing nearly every day, he said, adding that most
attacks occur while people are asleep at night. Symptoms include fever,
muscular pains, convulsions and death.
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