On December 26, the Ministry of Health of Oaxaca reported that three children of a community with conditions of extreme marginality in said entity were affected by the bite of a bat. Very unfortunately, after several days of hospitalization, two of the three minors lost their lives, and local and federal authorities assured that the deaths were the result of bat bites.
With all due respect and seriousness, I believe that the statements of the local and federal Health Secretariats are an act of absolute irresponsibility and even an attack against the environment, since without further scientific investigation they assured that the deaths and suffering of minors were caused by this species that is vital to our ecosystems and that is in danger of extinction.
Specialists in this type of mammals and members of the most recognized associations in wildlife management have made it clear that although the rabies strain comes from a bat, there was no indication that the attacks were directly caused by one of the 30 species that exist of this animal.
Indeed, as the Secretariat communicated in a tweet, rabies is a viral zoonosis which is transmitted through a deep bite or scratch from an infected animal, and the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (IDRE) confirmed that the rabies virus was the cause of the unfortunate death of two minors, but at no time was it verified or demonstrated that the transmitting species was a bat.
It is very important to explain that aggressive behavior is rare in bats with signs of rabies, on the contrary, rabies in these animals tends to cause paralyzing and non-aggressive symptoms. And if they do get bitten, it is in exceptional cases such as when people grab bats with their hands.
In addition, specialists have reported in detail that it is very unlikely that a single blood-sucking bat individual has bitten or attacked three children, since they only require between 15 and 20 milliliters of blood per night, which is the equivalent of two tablespoons of blood. tea. And they specified that it could not have been several bats either because this species seeks food solitary.
Another very important fact to highlight is that the authorities reported that the minors were bitten on the face, arms, and lower back, and that no bloodstains were found after the alleged attack. This while the most susceptible places on the body to be bitten by this species are the tips of the fingers and toes, the earlobes, the tip of the nose, highly irrigated parts of the body that are usually exposed. . And beware, bats always leave a visible blood trail on the people they bite.
For all this, it is highly unlikely that the minors were bitten by a hematophage on the back. And, furthermore, most bats avoid illuminated areas with human activity, so the probability of them entering inhabited areas is practically nil.
In this sense, I consider that the different levels of government acted in a very irresponsible way when pointing to this species as the cause of the death of two minors, because without any scientific rigor they are condemning a species that is vital to our forests and jungles.
And it is that there are many benefits that bats provide to the environment and to society. These animals are a key piece in the pollination of plants that disperse seeds and allow the expansion of forests and jungles; They control insects that transmit diseases or are potential pests for crops such as cotton, citrus, and walnuts. and their droppings are collected and marketed under the name of guano or bat, a fertilizer that is in high demand and highly valued in the market.
So blaming them for these terrible deaths in Oaxaca can cause serious damage to our environment, because as we observed at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, massive killings of this species can begin to occur in various populations, logically fear of people, and thus harm our jungles, our forests and contribute to the spread of various pests that these animals control daily.
In this sense, the specialist associations and the expert scientific union in this type of mammals take advantage of this space to call on the federal government and the government of Oaxaca to carry out a serious scientific investigation on this case that very unfortunately has already claimed his life. of two little ones, to know with certainty the origin of rabies and avoid further infections and possible human losses.
And also, once again, we request that specialists, governments and citizens work together on these highly relevant issues of life or death that involve wildlife, in order to truly act for the benefit of people and all our resources. biological.
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