Spooky bats: Why they baffle medical experts

ORIGINATING IN BATS: Epidemiologists have seen many zoonsoses (infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that spread from animals (usually vertebrates) to human.

STUDY ON BATS: In the study published in The Lancet, Prof. Guizhen Wu of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the data they had so far was consistent with the virus being initially hosted by bats.

WORST DISEASES OUTBREAKS? Some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years — including SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and the 2019-nCoV (the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease) — are thought to have originated in bats. SARS is thought to have evolved from infecting bats to civet cats to humans in China. MERS evolved from bats to camels to humans in the Middle East.

FIERCE IMMUNE SYSTEMS: Bats have “fierce immune systems.” And this drive viruses to higher virulence, making them deadlier in humans *Interferons (IFNs) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. When interferon proteins are secreted by virus-infected cells, nearby cells go into a defensive, antiviral state.

DEADLY GLOBAL PANDEMIC: The 2003 bat-coronavirus–derived SARS, came terrifyingly close to causing a deadly global pandemic that was prevented only by swift global public health actions and luck. Today, 17 years later, the world is facing a similar risk.

SPECIES: There are more than 1,300 species of bats. They are the second-most common group of mammals after rodents. Some small bats weigh as much as a coin, others have a wingspan of up to 6 feet.

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FOOD: Bats are consumed in various amounts in some regions within some Asian, African, European, and Pacific Rim countries and cultures, including China, Vietnam, Seychelles, Indonesia, Palau, Thailand, China, and Guam. In Guam, Mariana fruit bats are considered a delicacy.