this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2025
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The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, told The Associated Press.

The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 weeks ago (4 children)

I apologize in advance for my ignorance. But why do people like to eat bats? Are they particularly nutritious? Or is it a matter of access to foods and resources? Are they really yummy? And why didn’t Ozzy contract any weird deadly disease?

[–] [email protected] 54 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Because they need to eat.

Why do people eat chicken if there's a risk of getting salmonella?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Yet thousands of people get salmonella every year from under cooked chicken and some die of it. Eating bat is the same, cook it correctly and it's safe.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_as_food

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 weeks ago (6 children)

Why not eat something nice and normal instead of a bat though? I mean FFS

[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Why not eat something ~~nice and normal~~ that westerners think is normal instead of a bat though? I mean FFS

Fixed that for you. You know different regions and cultures have different norms for foods, right?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I'm struggling to think of a single component of a hot dog or sausage that isn't "normal" to eat everywhere in the world except for reasons of religion and even then it depends on what meat was used to make it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm curious as to whether this is lack of experience, knowledge or imagination. Maybe all 3.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

On your behalf? It's just ignorance and lack of curiosity. You don't think about the world, hence you do not know.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago

because you're used to it.

Also, you replied to the wrong person

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

You're absolutely correct, in fact most food is usually variations on a theme e.g. meat in bread like sandwiches, burgers, burritos, tacos, dumplings... but this isn't a popular opinion unfortunately.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Do they? Most everywhere people eat basically the same shit. Preparation methods vary and there's substitutions historically based on available resources but globalisation has practically obliterated all that.

I'm not a westoid BTW I've traveled a decent amount.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

people eat basically the same shit

Buffalo sauce is a rare sight in Europe, as is white gravy. Americans consider them an everyday occurrence.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

man what part of america are you in lol. I've never seen either of those as an everyday occurrence, though you will find them if you go to a southern fried chicken joint.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Of course. Do you eat bats too? FWIW, when I was in federal service overseeing biotechnolgical modifications of animals, I and my reports were discussing some permit requests that came to us in conjunction with our duties. One of the permits requests included an animal that was unknown to us at the time. When the critter was mentioned, I and one of my reports (both of us are of an ethnicity stereotypically known to have wide-ranging culinary tastes) turned to each other and wondered aloud, "I wonder if they are good to eat?".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

What on earth do you put on your biscuits, if not white gravy?

[–] Earthly3739 27 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

You may be surprised to learn that "normal" changes based on your culture and geographic location.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I've changed geographic location many times, there's a huge difference between pickling vs. breading and eating fucking bats.

Culture is a spook and an excuse for simpletons.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Lol wtf makes a bat not normal?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Do you eat bats often?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Well, for starters, most are pretty small and there'd not be much meat on them anyway. It would be a lot like eating mice, but with more bones.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

You ever eat a hot dog? Crazy stuff in there just as sketchy as bat.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Maybe in the US? I'm sorry but we still have food regs in europe

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I forgive you. 🤗

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

In reply to this, I give you Andouillette.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

have you tried bat?

Could be manna from heaven, for all you know

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

No? Why would I? Is there anything that makes them as a food source particularly beneficial?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Eating bat vs. eating air seems like a no-brainer in the survival dept.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Now that makes sense. This nonsense about cultures is a crock of shit on the other hand.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you ask yourself the same thing when eating any other meat or you just have something against other cultures?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes I do, I always wonder how it came to be, and if it's unusual I wonder about why it remains to this day.

Do you not even realise how actually painfully racist it is to imply that their culture is eating known extreme risk factors for horrible diseases? It's like saying having AIDS is queer "culture". It's so fucking patronising.

Guy above gave an actual response. My original comment was just wondering if something happened like extremely bad famine or war that would cause people to take such a risk.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wait...

You realize that you're the one acting like their culture is weird because they don't act like you do? The only person coming off as racist here is you buddy!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

You're the one implying that their culture is eating known high-risk disease vectors, you are the racist here bub, same as those rightoid loons who think Asians don't use antibiotics and only "traditional medicine" and again, same as thinking that AIDS is "gay culture".

You are so fucking out of touch you literally do not know what racism is.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

You're the one saying "why not eat something nice and normal".

So get off your high horse, from the get go you've been the one acting like these people aren't intelligent enough to eat normally.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Unless you don't eat meat you don't have much of a leg to stand on right now

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Huh? Meat I eat isn't considered to be a risky source of novel zoonotic coronaviruses

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Chicken is safe as long as you cook it properly

Beef is safe as long as you cook it properly

And guess what...

Bat is safe as long as you cook it properly

People get sick and die from under cooking beef and chicken all the time, will you stop eating it because of that?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I would bet these kids were just as likely, if not more so, to have been infected by handling the bat as having eaten cooked bat.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Are you an idiot? If cows had a high risk of novel zoonotic pandemic diseases coming out of them after a worldwide pandemic then of course I wouldn't eat them you fucking imbecile, and stop implying that these people are too retarded to understand this just because of their skin colour.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

Funny you would say that.

Heard of bird flu?

The only person implying anything negative about people eating bat here is you. Maybe you should go back and reread this whole conversation, it might make your realize how bad you look.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 3 weeks ago

This is why we had programs like USAID. To keep people from starving and eating infected animals harboring endemic viruses we know nothing about.

Even in the US, it's highly inadvisable to eat animals/bush meat infected with CWD even if it technically can't infect humans ...yet.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 weeks ago

is it a matter of access to foods and resources

This is generally why people eat certain things, yes.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 weeks ago

Pretty sure you eat anything possible when you're starving, and these children may have been.