By Nalinee Seelal Monday, October 3 2011

There is an increase in vampire bats in Trinidad and Tobago, because for the past four years bat catchers have been off the job.

The bat catchers whose professional titles are Anti-Rabies Assistants put a halt to vampire bat catching in 2007 when the Ministry of Agriculture stopped paying allowances for their night duties.

This industrial action dragged on for four years until a few months ago when new Minister of Food Production Land and Marine Affairs, Vasant Bharath and his Permanent Secretary along with others stepped in and began having talks with the Anti-Rabies Assistants with a view to having them return to catching the vampire bats.

Yesterday Minister of Food Production Land and Marine Affairs Vasant Bharath confirmed to Newsday that his Ministry is concerned about the possibility of a rabies outbreak and hence the reason why a decision was taken to ensure that the Anti-Rabies Assistants are back on the job to rid the country of vampire bats which can spread rabies not only to animals but to humans as well. “We had started getting increased complaints that vampire bats were attacking cattle mainly in the southern areas and there was a real possibility that there could be an outbreak of rabies and when I inquired about six months ago I found out that there was a dispute between the Chief Personnel Officer making payments of overtime to Anti-Rabies Assistants. Since then we have been trying to resolve the matter and it is my belief that we have arrived at an arrangement which is acceptable to these Anti-Rabies Assistants and the Ministry, and I have been informed that they will return to work shortly, and in the meantime we have had to increase our surveillance by Ministry’s vets to ensure that there has not been an outbreak.” He added that plans are afoot to increase the number of Anti-Rabies Assistants in Trinidad from 15 to 25 if the need arises.

Also yesterday, Zoologist Kirk Amour of the Ministry of Food Production Land and Marine Affairs who is assigned to the Animal Production and Health Division said the County of St Patrick which stretches from Mosquito Creek to Cedros has the highest number of vampire bats in Trinidad. He said vampire bats can be found throughout the country but there seems to be a higher concentration of the bats in the County of St Patrick.

According to Amour, in 2007 the Anti-Rabies Assistants had an industrial dispute and they stopped catching bats pending a resolution to their concerns.

He however added that a decision was taken recently to pay the Anti-Rabies Assistants overtime and while there are still issues to be ironed out he expects the 15 persons to be out in the field shortly. Asked by Newsday if the state of the curfew imposed will affect the work of the Anti-Rabies Assistants Amour said some areas are not under curfew and the officers will not require permits. However, in areas where the curfew is in force, the police have indicated that they have no problem issuing the passes for the bat catching to take place.

He said that the Anti-Rabies Assistants will not be required to catch bats every night but when it is done all the necessary measures will be put in place. Anti-Rabies Assistants must first be vaccinated to ensure that they are protected from rabies when they are engaged in the catching of bats, especially vampire bats.

He said that there are eight species of bats in Trinidad and Tobago and all can carry the dreaded rabies. According to Amour, there are three ways of catching bats and the first involves collecting the bats in their roosting areas, trapping them with mist nets when they attempt to feed around animals and the third method involves pasting the bats with anti-coagulant which is a poison that has the same active ingredient as rat poison. When the bats are pasted with this poison and they return to their roost and other bats lick the poisonous paste they too will die. Armour, pointed out that since 2007 “the Ministry has been using the poison around the wound where animals are bitten by the vampire bats since the vampire bats always return to the same spot and after ingesting the poison they will die.”

He said that some of the vampire bats are also pasted with the poison while they are in their roost. He said that the vampire bats live mainly in hollows and caves but they are more concentrated in forested areas but can be found in Laventille and Diego Martin, Debe, Siparia and other areas. Amour pointed out that the vampire bats can feed on humans especially persons in rural areas who may be asleep with their windows open and this could be life- threatening to the person bitten.

He advised that any person bitten by a vampire bat should report it immediately to the Ministry of Health and they should be treated immediately.

According to Amour unlike other bats vampire bats can walk like a crab and feed on humans so therefore it is important persons secure their homes properly and even hunters who venture deep into the forested areas at night to hunt should take the necessary precautions and have themselves vaccinated against the deadly rabies decease.

The hunting season has been suspended due to the state of emergency.

“If you are bitten by a vampire bat you must report it immediately to the Animal Health Division or the Ministry of Health, Public Health Department and be treated immediately, Amour reiterated. He made it clear that all bats can carry rabies so it is necessary to be careful when coming in contact with them.

Last week Dr Ann Marie Hosein veterinary officer of St Patrick said all healthy cattle, bison, donkeys over three months and vaccinated against rabies every two or three years.” She admitted that there is an increase of vampire bats in Trinidad.