PULLMAN, Wash. – The Covid-19 pandemic has a likely connection to bats, and the next viral outbreak probably will too, unless scientists can quickly learn more about the thousands of viruses carried by one of the most diverse mammals on the planet.
That’s according to a recent article published by Washington State University Animal Health Professor Michael Letko, who points out that evidence already links different bat species to human outbreaks of SARS, MERS, some Ebola viruses and many more. In his article in Nature Reviews Microbiology, Letko calls for more research into bats’, to help predict, and hopefully prevent, the next pandemic.
With more than 1,400 species, bats represent an extremely diverse order of mammals, second only to rodents, which are also known viral hosts.
Bats are found almost everywhere scientists have looked, and with expanding human encroachment on their habitat, viral infection is almost inevitable. In the paper, Letko said,
“The COVID-19 pandemic is unfortunate, but it’s not surprising. We roll the dice for 20 years not doing anything to reduce contact with these animals. It was more or less a matter of time before something like this was going to happen.”
Letko, and his co-authors (including WSU assistant professor Stephanie Seifert and Vincent Munster from Rocky Mountain Laboratories,) outline ways to decrease the odds of the next pandemic by increasing research into bats on the smallest, molecular level and on the broader macro-level of the environment.
Photo: Audubon.org