Do bats carry deadly viruses? Yes. Would a cull help? No. Here’s why
- Virus spillover events more often than not result from human activities causing habitat loss, researchers note
- Bats are also key components of intricate ecological networks and their destruction would upset that balance
One summer afternoon in 2020, Beijing resident Chen Daming spotted a bat outside his flat. It seemed to be flying round and round the hallway, looking for a way to get out.
“I had to make three calls before anyone showed up and they bashed the bat dead with a dustpan just at my door. The creature squeaked at each bang and there was blood. I can’t forget the messiness,” Chen recalled.
Bats were once considered a sign of good fortune in Chinese culture, as their name sounded like the word for blessing. However, the animals have in modern times been shunned or even killed for fear they might bring disease.
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Bat viruses being studied in Cambodia to gain new coronavirus pandemic insights
More than 200 viruses from almost all viral families have been isolated in bats, suggesting they might harbour a substantial diversity of viruses that are zoonotic, or capable of being transmitted from animals to humans. These include potentially deadly pathogens like the rabies, Nipah and Ebola viruses. However, these are thought to need an intermediate animal host to be transmitted to humans.
Scientists worry that unfounded fears about virus origins could lead to the culling of bats -which will not eliminate disease but will surely damage the ecological system.
