Rabid vampire bats kill 11 Brazilians = Rio de Janeiro (dpa) - Eleven people have died from rabies after being bitten by vampire bats in northern Brazil in the last two weeks, health authorities has reported. The latest victim was an 11-year-old girl in Augusto Correa town in Para state. Four others died in the city in the last five days, where more than 700 people have been treated for bites from vampire bats, the report released by the authorities late Wednesday was carried by dpa early Thursday. Health officials have started a vaccination programme and set up treatment posts around the remote Amazonian town. The thumb-sized bats normally only attack large birds and sleeping cattle. They pass on rabies to cattle and domestic animals, leading to death. They are normally not considered aggressive towards humans, however destruction of the rainforest is a factor in the greater concentration of bats in populated areas, according to the Brazilian environment agency. Humans are primarily bitten while sleeping, dpa reported. --SP 1350 Local Time 1050 GMT
