Vampire Bats Killing Kids

(Lima, Peru) In the remote and barely-accessible Amazon jungle area of Condorcanqui Province, it's reported that 3,500 people have been bitten by bloodsucking vampire bats and six children are believed to have died from rabies.

To avoid further contagion, health authorities have now vaccinated some 1,700 people against rabies, and have carried out operations for the selective elimination of bats.

The province of Condorcanqui, inhabited by Awajun and Wampi Indians, is located in a remote Amazon area that takes 12 hours along jungle trails, on foot and by river to reach from Chachapoyas, the regional capital.

Vampire bats feed on blood and they typically bite children on the head and adults on the toes, but these attacks are scarcely felt by the victims because the animals are nocturnal and their bites inject a liquid that numbs the body, according to specialists.

Officials claim the situation is desperate and nobody seems to care.