Mexican daily newspapers such as El Universal and Reforma reported on the 27th (local time) that three children who were attacked by bats in Mexico are receiving rabies (rabies) and are receiving hospital treatment.
Three siblings, ages 8, 7 and 2, from the village of Paloderima in the Texmelucan region of San Lorenzo, Oaxaca, are currently hospitalized with symptoms of rabies after being recently bitten by a bat.
"Two of the victims are in serious condition," said Deputy Health Minister Hugo López Gatel, speaking at the annual press conference at the Presidential Palace in Mexico City on the same day.
"Samples have been sent to the lab to analyze exactly which virus it is," he added, adding that an epidemiological investigation is underway.
Rabies is a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in mammals, including humans.
There are individual differences, but the average incubation period is 3 to 8 weeks.
Afterwards, symptoms such as paralysis, convulsions, difficulty breathing, fear of water, and seizures appear, but the mortality rate is close to 100%.
As you can guess from the name of the disease, in the past, there was a high probability of being infected by dogs.
However, recently, wild animals such as bats, monkeys, and raccoons are mainly reported as vectors.
López Gatel, deputy health minister of Mexico, also pointed out that "rabies transmitted by dogs is very rare," and that it can be contracted by being bitten or injured by a wild animal carrying the rabies virus.
There have been no cases in Korea since 2004.
(Photo = Yonhap News)