North American bats may be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2
After the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, late last year, scientists rushed to uncover the disease’s origins. Studies showed that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, likely arose in the Chinese horseshoe bat, jumped to another animal, and then spread to humans. Now, researchers are concerned that humans, ironically, might spread SARS-CoV-2 to a new host: bats in North America. This is bad news for bats if the virus turns out to be deadly. And if bats can transmit the virus back to people, it’s bad news for humans, too.
As the virus continues to spread nationwide, scientists are ramping up their efforts to protect local bats. “Immediately, researchers started asking, ‘Do our bats have this? If not, could we give it to them?’ ” said Lauri Hanauska-Brown, chief of Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Nongame Wildlife Management Bureau.
This spring, experts in fields including virology and wildlife disease assessed whether SARS-CoV-2 can harm North American bats, which include over 40 different species. The results, released in June, indicate that the virus could spread from humans to bats. However, there are still many questions that scientists must answer in order to protect these animals from a potentially fatal virus.
Bats have a reputation for being virus reservoirs, partly because they have specialized immune systems that allow them to carry viruses without becoming sick. Most of these viruses, including many types of coronaviruses, have evolved alongside the animals for millions of years. But a new virus can still harm bats; consequently, scientists worry that North American bats may be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, which humans could transmit through handling bats or going into caves.
Read more: https://www.hcn.org/articles/north-wildlife-north-american-bats-may-be-susceptible-to-sars-cov-2
(High Country News)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the cave.
= new reply since forum marked as read
