Dr. Sergio Recuenco
National University of San Marcos, Peru, January 2020
Dr. Sergio Recuenco, assistant Professor at the National University of San Marcos, Peru, is a leader in the field of rabies transmitted via vampire bats. He has campaigned passionately for the indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon, populations heavily exposed to vampire bat bites.
“Rabies deaths are avoidable,” says Sergio.“The fact that people still die of this disease in the 21st century, when all tools to prevent it are known and available, is the most powerful indicator of unacceptable global health disparities,” he adds.
Dr. Recuenco has been involved in various collaborative research and field work including in Guatemala (the study in 2009 led to the discovery of Influenza A in bats of the Americas, and other new pathogens) and Peru (in 2010, leading to the discovery of rabies antibodies in humans never vaccinated, and new pathogens in bats of the Amazon Basin).
