Word: rotundus
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...local doctor diagnosed the cause of death as derriengue, a form of rabies transmitted by the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus.* Derriengue is a scourge of Latin American cattle, killing half a million head a year in Mexico alone. A rabies-infected bat shows no symptoms for three months or so; then it suddenly goes mad, even attacks other vampires. In this way, the disease is transmitted from one bat to another. Within three to 15 days, the rabid vampire dies; anything it has bitten during that period is likely to contract derriengue...
...Found only in the warmer parts of the Americas, Desmodus rotundus feeds exclusively on blood. The bite of a non-rabid vampire ordinarily does a human victim no serious harm, but rabid vampires are deadly. Derriengue, like other forms of rabies, can be prevented by vaccination...
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