Two young brothers who were close to death after 26 days lost in the Amazon rainforest have astonished medics with their rapid recovery.

Gleison and Glauco Carvalho Ferreira went missing after leaving their village in Manicore Municipality on 18th February to hunt for birds.

More than 300 joined in the search of 3,000 square kilometres (1,158 square miles) of rainforest teeming with jaguars and giant anacondas.

The boys – aged nine and six – were eventually stumbled upon by a farmer named Manoel Vilkem, who heard one of them crying out for help while he was chopping trees on 15th March.

When they were rescued, the boys – who belong to the Mura indigenous tribe – were just skin and bones and so weak they were barely able to stand up.

Dr Suzyane Serfaty of the hospital in Manicore where they were first taken told how they were extremely malnourished and dehydrated.

She said Glauco was close to septic shock and diabetic shock, with an alarming blood sugar level of 500 mg/dL.

She revealed that had he spent any longer in the rainforest without getting antibiotics for the inflammations he had developed, he would certainly have died.

Paediatrician Eugenio Tavares of the hospital in Manaus where they were transferred told how the boys had taken several knocks and spoke little when they were admitted.

He described their conditions as “serious”.

Fellow paediatrician Regina Alves told how the pair had been bitten by bats and had to be given the rabies vaccine.

Glauco had received the most bites and was also admitted with loss of kidney function due to dehydration.

But now the brothers have made a stunning recovery.

Gleison, who weighed 15 kilogrammes (33 lb) when he was found, now weighs 26 kilogrammes (57 lb).

And Glauco, who weighed just 12 kilogrammes (26 lb) when he was rescued, now weighs 17 kilogrammes (37 lb).

Gleison told how he and Glauco were lost, scared, how there were lots of bugs at night, how it was dark, freezing cold, and how it rained intensely during their time in the rainforest.

The boys survived on a grim diet of the native sorb fruit and rainwater.

Glauco has since been having nightmares about his time in the rainforest and now always keeps close to his mother.

The boys were given counselling during their time in hospital.

Their counsellor, Shirlene Siqueira, told how she was amazed at how quickly the boys recovered.

She called them “warrior children who deserve all our admiration and respect”.

Alves, meanwhile, said of their survival: “It was a miracle.”

The boys now enjoy playing football with the other children in the village and Gleison says his favourite hobby is going fishing.