I don't want to trivialize someone's death. But this is one of the real reasons we need to secure the border. There is absolutely no way to effectively track disease with a porous border.

what i really want to know is: was he a fan of twilight?

It's unfortunate that this man died. However, just imagine the healthcare costs associated with the so-called "cheap" illegal labor at this sugar plantation. This is a prime example of why "cheap labor" isn't cheap.

The sugar plantation merely passed the cost of doing business (its employees healthcare costs) onto the unwilling U.S. taxpayers! Unacceptable!

The healthcare cost should be paid by the sugar plantation owner if his worker is illegal. The U. S. TAX PAYER pays well over 100 BILLIONS DOLLARS a year on illegals .(welfare,healthcare,judicial,employment,education,housing,food stamps,tyranny,narcotics,day care,etc.)

Done in by the chupacabron.

Who said he was illegally employed there? If you've ever been to California you can see busloads of migrant workers being shuffled around the state legally. We're all aware that there are legal ways of coming to the States to work, so why is this guy automatically 'illegal'?

The health care costs of treating this man are taken up by what's called the 'civic good.' Basically, it's good that we know he died from something infectious so we can tell people before it spreads. I will gladly accept that my taxes went to identifying his rabies infection, and that they were used to help warn those who may be infected so that it doesn't spread. The last thing we need is a bunch of people running around spreading rabies.

Maybe the border patrol has found a new weapon against illegal immigration. So THIS is what they meant by "comprehensive immigration reform"?........................Just saying.

if people actually READ the headline ... (people just don't pay attention anymore), it SAYS:

First vampire bat bite death in U.S. reported

that mean .. the first death in the US (he died in the US, right??) from a vampire bat bite (he was bitten by a vampire bat, right???) it never said he was bitten in the US. it says the person DIED in the US.

NOTHING wrong with the headline.

Thank you raven!!!

jullop - STFU!!!!!!!!! Headlines are designed to grab your attention to get you to read the article. And the headline was accurate. If your pea-sized brain can't make the leap then find something a little more your speed to read but please leave your inane comments somewhere else!

More importantly than that, let's stop acting like newbies when it comes to news and the media. This is a business. They need you to read the article so that you are traffic on the site to justify advertisement revenue. How do they best get you to volunteer to click the link? Make the headline sound exciting and something that you are either scared of or simply can't miss.

You're not smarter than everyone else, you didn't notice anything, they are trying to make money just like I assume you are in your (hopefully) job. Media is a business.

Here's an idea, and this goes for several posts on this page. After every story, each person has to pass a 10 question quiz before posting to that article. Folks don't want to come on here and read made up assumptions fostered from reading two paragraphs of a story.

If the articles here are too long or complicated for you, try Fox News. Their stories are shorter and written for a more basic understanding.

Have you ever heard of 'legal immigration'? It said he was a migrant, not an illegal immigrant. People going off half-cocked when they haven't even read or understood the information is half the problem in this world... in fact that is what caused his death... a thorough physical exam when they realized it wasn't from an obvious cause might have found the bite on his heel, a simple act but noooo, let's run all these expensive tests... actually I am surprised at the level of care he got, you know they had to first stop and figure out who was going to pay for this and the answer must have been our government, so 'okay let's proceed'... after recently losing my job due to plant closing after working and paying taxes for 35 years, I broke my foot while on unemployment... no insurance, no MEDICAID = poor to nonexistent care for me, also lost my unemployment due to being unable to work for a few days... got it back but never reclaimed that lost money ok now I am ranting but I am pissed off!!! LOL

AngelicaS: I am personally aware of this incident. You and many people on this thread are wrong on several counts and so is the story. The young man was 21 years old not 19. This was not a "Sugar Plantation". He was a legal worker, H2A or whatever the unskilled workers are classed as. I am fairly certain (about 95%), this was paid for by his employers workers comp. This country is full of illegals who are here for nothing but a free ride and everything they can take. This young man and so many more are here doing jobs that you can't get the locals to do. If you find locals for this work, they show up late, want a long lunch and want to leave early. Let's don't forget that they want an advance in pay. Most locals can't pass a drug test unless you think a positive is passing. Very few of the locals can or will keep up with this workers for very long. They are paid a pretty decent wage for unskilled labor. There is a reason it's called unskilled. When they are here working, the minimum hours they are looking for is 8. Most are expecting to work 12 or more hours everyday. I'm as conservative as anybody here, but unless you are in the rural parts of the country, you don't have a clue how hard it is to find locals to do the work. I'm against the illegals as anybody and I want the leeches and criminals deported yesterday. Not tomorrow. Build the damn fence and have it patroled with the army when we get them out of those hellholes of Irag, Afghanistan, Libya or anything that ends in a damn "stan".

No offense, but I find it hard to believe that work comp would pay for a non work-related illness.

I don't agree with everything you said Tin Cup, but I agree that in rural communities, it is hard to find anyone to do work.

I live in a small town (hit by Katrina), and for about 3 years now, I've tried to find a roofer that will come and replace my roof before it falls in on my head. I'm starting to get rained on in here.
I've asked the "locals", and while they all complain that they can't get any work, none of the roofers seem to have "time" to do mine, much less bother to give an estimate of the work.
I now have 7 leaks that I can see.
I can't afford Lowe's and Sears, with their belly full of BS talk and an estimate of over $10,000 for a house less than 1200 sq. ft., and no high ceilings. Just a normal small house with 8 ft. ceilings pitch.

Maybe some of those illegals can come do my roof? It's a tough job, but hey....can't seem to get a local to get off his ......

I completely understand what you are saying, Conway Twitter! I live in a small town, too, and it is amazing how the so called "locals" will whine and complain about not having any work but will not get off their butts to call back, do an estimate, or even act like they want to work unless you are one of their buddies. I wish I could find some "unskilled" workers to help out around here, but then I would have to get off my butt and learn Spanish.

LOL, true Cats! Or maybe just hollar "Case of beer!" (I have dealt with a LOT of Mexicans in retail settings, that KNOW English, but refuse to use it.)

True, they never said he was illegal. On top of that, assuming he were a legal immigrant, the screening wouldn't have showed him positive for anything as the rabies test didn't even show positive until the day before he died. Assumptions (especially without thorough analysis) have become such a widespread problem in the US.

WOW unflipping believable. First, lets make assumptions on a working individual. 2nd lets state that the bite would have been discovered during a routine physical had he been given one. 3rd lets state they are here live off the welfare system. You people are full of ignorance in my opinion. 1. the only way the bite could have been found and identified would have been IF it happened immediately. Perhaps you may not know much about bats and bites but when a bat bites an individual it rarely leaves a puncture wound but rather a mark similiar to that of a scratch. 2. IF AMERICANS would get off their lazy backsides and do the work which the migrant workers do for the cost approx. min wage and work as hard as these workers then the AMERICANS would have the job but until AMERICANS decide that they can do this type of work for the pay it will never happen. 3. AMERICANS are so quick to point fingers at Mexicans for being on the welfare system when in fact there are more AMERICANS on the welfare system than there are Mexicans. Oh and I know that the response to this will be that the only reason AMERICANS are on welfare is because the ILLEGAL MEXICANS TOOK THEIR JOB FROM THEM WHICH IS HOGWASH!!!! THE ONLY TRUE AMERICANS HERE ARE THE NATIVE AMERICANS BUT THEY WERE PUSHED ONTO RESERVATIONS. DO YOUR HISTORY PEOPLE ... TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA ONCE BELONGED TO MEXICO... UNTIL THE THEN PRESIDENT DECIDED HE WANTED TEXAS AND THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR BEGIN AND THE MEXICANS WERE DEFEATED AND PUSHED BACK. ...So you see in my opinion Mexicans were here long before white man.... and dont worry ppl I am a full fledged WHITE AMERICAN who speaks her mind.

And to add to this excellent post by Syndi - I do hope that all the clowns that have been scaremongering about illegal immigrants bringing diseases into the US have stopped to consider that disease knows no legality or nationality.

For our slower friends - if he was a LEGAL immigrant, the bat would still have bitten him...and...if he was a US tourist...the f'ing bat would still have etc etc.

And, just in case we get the "I would never go to Mexico..." crowd - there is worse @!$%# in places where US citizens do go on vacay.

And...we have rabid bats right here in the US.

sheesh!

Uh... It says 2010. Even the caption under the picture says it happened last year. Unless you are commenting from the past, in which case, you are right. It hasn't happened yet...

Why did it take a year to report on this? or is news so slow, you have dig through the archives to find news worthy material.

They waited to protect the bat's identity. By now it's in a different location and has had plastic surgery to change it's looks and start a new life.

There is no cure for rabies once the syptoms appear. Rabies shots before they appear will cure a person.

There has been at least one person who has survived rabies with intensive treatment in the ICU. For the most part, the disease is fatal.

The Milwaukee Protocol is used in these cases. Jeanna Giese was the first person to survive using anti-viral medications in 2004. It's much easier to recover with the vaccination against rabies. It's certainly less expensive and much less likely to lead to brain damage as well to get vaccinated before the symptoms appear. The Milwaukee Protocol has only a 9% survival rate. Get the rabies vaccination if you suspect you've been exposed to rabies.

Get it? Out of 25 victims only 3 survivors. Take the vaccine.

I misspoke. Yes, in a civilized world he would get prophylactic shots and it might help, maybe. This guy was a poor migrant worker. He wasn't getting any prophylatic rabies vaccinations and was dead the moment the bat bit him.

I guess there is a shortage of scary news stories today. They have to dig up last year's files.

Lol, yea, what's that all about?

They should of used it last Halloween

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Exactly!! I was wondering if it was just me who noticed that! Can't believe how misleading these headlines and stories are sometimes...it wasn't even until the END of the article that they mentioned he was actually bitten in Mexico!

The headline isn't misleading. It says, "First vampire bat bite death in the U.S. recorded." The dude died in the U.S. There is nothing deceptive there...

Not only that, but it implies he died from the bite. He didn't. He died of rabies and the bite was only the vehicle of infection.

if people actually READ the headline ... (people just don't pay attention anymore), it SAYS:

First vampire bat bite death in U.S. reported

that mean .. the first death in the US (he died in the US, right??) from a vampire bat bite (he was bitten by a vampire bat, right???) it never said he was bitten in the US. it says the person DIED in the US.

NOTHING wrong with the headline. people just don't READ / pay attention.

The United States has now recorded its first death from a vampire bat bite...

How do you not understand the misleading nature of not only the headline but the first sentence of that article? (Are you one of those literal readers who needs to be told to plug in and turn on your new appliances?!)

Some people just come on message boards to find something to criticize someone else for, be it their spelling, grammar, their interpretation of the article or HEADLINE, for Pete's sake!
No wonder this world is going to pot! Instead of helping one another, everybody is after everybody with claws and fangs. (no pun intended, to the article or the guy who died).

Damn it....I had just put away my wooden stakes and garlic necklaces for the season.

It was last year, they have already mourned and gotten over it (if they even knew...)

Quite the assumption there, Tynion...

A person does not "get over" a loved one dying. I hope with all my heart that you never say to a grieving son or daughter who just lost a mom or dad, "Oh, don't take it so bad. You will get over it."

You do not "get over" it. You might get used to it, though. And I hope you never say that to anyone either.

And even just getting used to it takes most people much longer than a year. The first year is typically spent in shock, surviving all the "firsts" without the loved one.

And what's up with that "if they even knew" thing, anyway? Don't "those people" keep track of or care about their loved ones..?

When even the grumpy among us chastise you for your insensitivity, you oughta listen...

Well, that was interesting. Tynion created this account just to comment on this article. No other comments anywhere, just here. Doing a bit of trolling on a new account, no doubt.

Bash those migrant workers, Tynion, bash 'em.

grump in NM,

Another thing I wish people would stop saying is, "life goes on". It makes me want to toss Ellie Mae's biscuits at that person.
That's about as cold hearted as anything I've heard. Yea it does go on, but it doesn't make a death, or life without that loved one, any easier just because someone says that. And it makes the person who says it, look like a moron in my books.

Conway, "life goes on". Just WTF does that mean? Does it mean: don't be a wuss, take it like a man, it's not that important anyway, what are you moping around about?

Yep, that "life goes on" phrase is nothing but cruel when death is involved. If one spills some milk it might be ok. But it is not ok when life changing things have crushed the holy living s--t out of someone.

Look like a moron? No my friend, the person who says that is definitely an unaware moron who is unable to comprehend the pain or suffering of others.

But, that's just me. I have a reputation for being sorta cranky about some things. ;0)

grump, I like your explanation much better than mine. Yes, that's what they mean when they say it and it's makes me sick.
I was being generous, only because I was taught to be. However, yes, they don't look like a moron. They ARE a moron. Thanks for the clarification. ;)

Did you even read the article? He died of rabies. Rabies is not an "extreme diseases" (sic) LOL ... Jesus!

The really scary part of this article is the fact that the rabies test only came back positive a single day before the rabies kills an otherwise healthy 19-year-old male! Clearly there's something VERY wrong with the rabies test.

Actually, MacinPhoenix, with a maximum of 9% survival rate, that seems pretty extreme to me. But even so, there are a lot of other diseases that can come across the border when they cross illegally. And, even if they aren't extreme diseases, we really don't want to introduce a lot of things here.

The point mac is that a lot of money was spent in doing many tests to cure this 19 year old. Did you think that was free? I doubt he paid for it. The costs, the different types of diseases from one are to another area vary and when mixed create more or different which then takes more medical exploration/testing to cure.

"Charles Smith" and company, nowhere in the article does it say that he was in this country illegally. There are many legal migrant workers that do a lot of the hard-labor involved in getting produce to your table. Until you go out and grow and pick your own food, you have no right to bad-mouth or condemn these workers. And this poor young man did NOT bring the disease over the border with him (though he did bring his own infection of it). Rabies is VERY WELL established in this country already and has been for generations, primarily in raccoons, squirrels and other wild animals. The disease is spread through bites from infected animals to others -- not casual contact, proximity or whatever. Yes, it is a horrible disease. Yes, the survival rate is dismal. But unless this dying young man bit someone, he was no danger to anyone else.

And the argument that this guy's disease is evidence that other diseases can come here with other people under other circumstances at other times somehow proves the danger we all in is spurious at best. There is no actual connection between this case and your racist based fears. Diseases can come from anywhere at any time -- including citizens and legal immigrants of any walk of life. Of course we should do everything we can to protect ourselves from it, but short of sealing up your house and never leaving again, there is no way to eliminate the possibility completely. And by the way, most of the world's worst diseases most likely originated in Europe (with a few notable exceptions such as HIV). Your presumably (and my) European ancestors spread death and disease everywhere they went (albeit unwittingly) for hundreds of years. Just something to think about.

Great post - Saddened. I am too. Not only by this poor young man's excruciating death, but by the disgusting bigots who have dehumanized him and turned him into a poster child for tougher immigration laws etc.

In fact, your post was better than great - it was compassionate and realistic with er, actual FACTS!!!

Not all migrant workers are here illegally. While he may have been, you cannot ascertain that fact from this article.

Perhaps you should go to Georgia and work. They have already put through a papers-please law which only resulted in rotting fields because there was no one to pick the fruit/vegetables. It was the most expensive mistake Georgia ever made!

Now do your complaining..., you heartless, disgusting, selfish idiots!

What an awful take. So what... we should just import a bunch of Mexicans to tend our fields because we can't get lazy-asses off of welfare and make them tend the fields? No, how about they stay home and figure it out and we figure out how to tell the welfare scammers to get a job and fix both problems at the same time?

So Tynion, what you are saying is that the US should use forced labor to tend the fields. Mighty communist of you.

Rich Burcham

It's a shame that the fields rotted. By all accounts the fields where I see people working, rot as well. A lot of times it just depends on the weather. If it rains too much, Rot. If it's too dry, Rot. If there's a fire...gone. If there's a flood...gone.
If the tumbleweeds get too big...crop is crushed.
Hurricane? Tornado? Tsunami?

Come on! It's not just because there were no illegals to work it. And if it is, it's the pig-headed business owners that are to blame!
If AMERICAN BUSINESSES WOULD PAY MORE INSTEAD OF SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE TO DO THE WORK FOR A DOLLAR AN HOUR, There would be TONS of AMERICANS in line for the jobs.

As an AMERICAN, you cannot live in America on those wages. You CAN, however, travel over our borders, get free housing, health care, food, babysitters, etc. etc., and live on those low wages. Because when everything else is free, that's beer money!

Are you a doctor? Rabies can present with many different symptoms, and many patients don't share the "full truth" with their doctors. This makes diagnosing a rare case very hard. It is evident from the article that the man that died did not share the fact that he was bitten right away.

They were taking tests and that takes time to rule things out. It's not everyday someone enters the doctor and has a bat bite. Apparently you've never been to a doctor for any kind of testing. It takes much longer than you think. Any who maybe he couldn't relate to the doctor due to a language barrier.

Who is claiming that? I've never heard anyone deny that anybody can get free indigent care here. And I have no problem treating indigents, legal or illegal, as long as they are duly deported as soon as the medical emergency is over.

I don't really want to get into the whole "illegals" hysteria, but this story points out one of the problems. Illegals are not screened, and therefore can come into this country with many different types of infectious diseases. We can not refuse emergency medical treatment to anyone, nor should we. We are a civilized nation. If the illegal Immigrant knows that they face deportation when they seek medical treatment, they won't do so, and therefore continue to circulate in the population, infecting others with whom they come into contact. About one third of people in the third world are infected with Tuberculosis, although most are not infectious to others. I dread the day when someone imports some particularly virulent disease, such as Ebola, or worse, into this country.

Free indigent care?! Come on... why should we be paying for this? He came to the US to get health care. Let's not believe that 'coincidentally' he started a job after a few weeks travels and oops! I died. He was bit, needed health care, busted hump to get here, slamed a shovel in the ground a few times and then fell into a hospital bed.

Tynion-

You certainly have all of the answers, don't you? Must be nice to be the most knowledgeable person alive.

@Tynion-

You don't get it do you? What Old Sarge said is right. It is about not driving people underground, so that they don't infect US . That US includes YOU. So the money is being spent on YOU. I work in Public Health, and I know how necessary this is in order to keep a healthy environment for Americans.

Opine'd- I've seen a lot of 'liberals' claim exactly that. You should check out some of the old discussion boards about closing the borders and illegal alien immigration reform. I myself have posted this very statement before, then had one lib after another jump all over me claiming that illegal aliens 'absolutely do not soak up free healthcare' and I don't know what I'm talking about and blah blah blah...

Anyways, you get the point. ;)

No where in the article does it say that he was here illegally. There are legal migrant workers here. And, even if he was, what kind of heartless person would turn him away when he was dying? Oh, I guess you would.

The kind of person who wants to send the message that the US is not going to continue to tolerate selfish people who insist on flaunting and violating our laws simply because 'they want a better life'.

Once your life has been negatively impacted by some piece of @!$%# illegal maybe you'll change your tune.

mom2jandk-

You make a good point. We all assumed that he was an illegal immigrant, and he probably was, but it did not say that in the article. There are legal immigrants from Mexico, etc..., and it seems that in the minds of many these are lumped in with the illegals, so that in reality, it becomes anti-Hispanic rather than anti illegal. That is plain ole racism. I have also noticed that no one seems to rant about illegals from places like Ireland, or Canada. There are plenty of those, too.

Would you rather have him walking around potentially infecting other legit citizens, perhaps his Republican Neocon employers???

Dom- No, I would rather have him scooped up by immigration and dumped off on the front steps of a hospital back in MEXICO, where he belongs!

I mean, it's not like that's cruel or anything: Mexico has some good doctors and hospitals. After all, aren't a lot of Americans going down there for medical treatment these days?

Mexico has some good doctors and hospitals. After all, aren't a lot of Americans going down there for medical treatment these days?

Yeah, and other countries as well. Because it's a helova lot cheaper in other countries, than it is here. Unless, of course, you're not an American.

So is that the reason medical and surgical procedures are cheaper for us elsewhere? Because we're not a citizen of THOSE countries?
(just food for thought).