It’s great you got the vaccines to those folks; I’ve seen people die of rabies (in one instance because the parents couldn’t pay for the vaccines but refused to accept the vaccines for free) – it’s a really horrible disease. I’m surprised the locals hadn’t associated rabid animal bites with death – then again it could be tricky since symptoms can show up anywhere from a few weeks to over a year after being exposed and people may not remember the victim being bitten. Or is being bitten by animals very common for them?

By the way, any of you guys enjoying Greg’s posts would likely enjoy Ricky Gervais early standup dvd “Animals”. Good insights into how the world was made and why snakes are legless….

However, people don’t really interact with bats much. Also, rabid bats typically aren’t aggressive like other infected mammals tend to get. I think rabies infections in bats are more mild generally. So people’s close contact with dogs and infected dogs’ propensity to get really aggressive when infected with rabies probably accounts for the normal association between rabies and dogs.

—
As for the missionaries. I wish that the science guilds had the financial and public backing that evangelical religions do. (I’m thinking of “instead of the religions”.) Imagine the networks of field stations we could maintain! We’d also probably have an easier time putting together a corps of good bush pilots… I for one would feel much safer with a pilot who didn’t think that weather was a supernatural manifestation.

Here in the southern US there have been a few rabies cases in humans that were not associated with known dog or wild animal bites. The speculation is that the individuals (in one case, a young child in Houston), while sleeping, were bitten by rabid bats, so that the exposure remained unnoticed. These are, of course, small bats, and I don’t know whether similar species exist in the part of Africa where you were working.

He also had a comment on self righteous smiles that “made him want to bite them”. That said, I owe my own life to those MAF pilots and am only glad that God’s imperfect communication systems led to the saving of 6 other lives through your intervention.

What happened to the example of the Good Samaritan, who didn’t send a bill after arranging medical care and lodging?

I am appalled by the lack of the missionaries Christian charity

From my observation, “Christian charity” is, in the opinions of many Christians (as judged by actions, rather than words), best reserved to Christians. Frequently, to Christians of their specific denomination.

Way to go, sir — saving six people’s lives and putting the disgustingly self-interested missionaries in their place. Hell of a victory.