Rabies, the disease that drives infected victims wild, is almost
always fatal once it reaches the brain. A new finding from two
remote communities in the Peruvian Amazon may reveal a chink in
the virus's armor. Scientists have tested six native people
there who have never received a vaccination yet appear to have
developed natural antibodies to the virus. The researchers think
that vampire bats, common in the region, bit the sleeping humans
and passed along small amounts of the virus over time. The
multiple, low-dose exposures gave each person’s immune system a
chance to learn how to fight back. The scientists, from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the
Peruvian Ministry of Health, made their finding during a search
for emerging infectious diseases harbored by bats. They surveyed
two communities, Truenococha and Santa Marta, which are
respectively two and six hours away from the closest health post
and only reachable by boat. "Generally the communities don't
appreciate the risk of rabie