Bat virome: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|The assemblage of viruses associated with bats}}

[[File:Bat research emerging diseases.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|A biologist holding a bat at an emerging infectious diseases training event in Panama]]

 

Bats harbor several viruses that are [[zoonotic]], or capable of infecting humans, and some bat-borne viruses are considered important [[Emergent virus|emerging viruses]].<ref name="Calisher">{{cite journal| doi = 10.1128/CMR.00017-06| title = Bats: Important Reservoir Hosts of Emerging Viruses| year = 2006| last1 = Calisher| first1 = C. H.| last2 = Childs| first2 = J. E.| last3 = Field| first3 = H. E.| last4 = Holmes| first4 = K. V. |last5=Schountz|first5=T. |journal=[[Clinical Microbiology Reviews]] |volume=19|issue=3|pages=531–545|pmid=16847084|pmc=1539106}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1590/0074-02760150048|title=Bats and zoonotic viruses: Can we confidently link bats with emerging deadly viruses?|year=2015|last1=Moratelli|first1=Ricardo|last2=Calisher|first2=Charles H.|journal=Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz|volume=110|issue=1|pages=1–22|pmid=25742261|pmc=4371215|quote=An increasingly asked question is 'can we confidently link bats with emerging viruses?'. No, or not yet, is the qualified answer based on the evidence available.}}</ref> These zoonotic viruses include the [[rabies virus]], [[SARS-CoV]], [[Marburg virus]], [[Nipah virus]], and [[Hendra virus]]. While research clearly indicates that [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2]] originated in bats,<ref name="MacKenzie"/> it is unknown how it was transmitted to humans, or if an intermediate host, possibly the [[Sunda pangolin]], was involved. It has been speculated that bats may have a role in the ecology of Ebola virus, though this is unconfirmed. While transmission of rabies from bats to humans usually occurs via biting, most other zoonotic bat viruses are transmitted by direct contact with infected bat fluids like urine, [[guano]], or saliva, or through contact with an infected, non-bat [[intermediate host]]. There is no firm evidence that butchering or consuming [[bat as food|bat meat]] can lead to viral transmission, though this has been speculated.