Fruit Bats
Who knew?
“The only sound is a choking in his throat as he continues to vomit while unconscious. Then comes a sound like a bed sheet being torn in half, which is the sound of his bowels opening at the sphincter and venting blood. The blood is mixed with his intestinal lining. He has sloughed off his gut. The lining of his intestines have come off and are being expelled along with huge amounts of blood” Richard Preston, The Hot Zone
A recent Ebola outbreak that originated in Guinea and has killed more than 145, has now crossed the border into Sierra Leone. Of the 6 most recently reported deaths, the UN Health Organization have laboratorial confirmed that Ebola is responsible for at least one. This one’s a sticky wicket as the virus spreads through contact with secretions of the infected, and those secretions can remain infectious for up to 7 weeks after they recover. This is made even more difficult to contain as the infected begin leaking secretions out of every orifice.
A ban on eating bats, in particular fruit bats, was enacted in Guinea in late March in an attempt to curb the outbreak. Yes you read that right; it appears they are profiling fruit bats. Why fruit bats? Well it appears they can be carriers of the deadly virus, so much so that the WHO singles them out as the poster child for the transmitter of the virus. You might ask, what about other bats or animals for that matter? Yes, you can contract the virus from other infected animals, dead or alive, to include chimpanzees, porcupines, squirrels and any other bush meat (even when cooked).
So why single out the bat? Could it be fear, misunderstanding, or reputation? As scientists have confirmed fruit bats can be carriers, it makes sense that given the current state of understanding that we profile the fruit bat, but to what end? Do we net, test and quarantine all fruit bats until proven innocent? Do we house them in secret locations till we figure out what to do? What about a counter attack with peregrine falcons?
The sad reality is that the fruit bats are not doing a majority of the killing in the regions that outbreaks have historically occurred. Its human to human contact due to a lack of education, resources and accessible modern health care. No one knows for sure why the virus hasn't traveled internationally, but the fact that the infected are usually most contagious when they're sickness, and therefore not travelling, sure doesn't hurt.
Alas, it seems logical that outbreaks will more than likely pop up without wholesale change that seems an unlikely reality. Isolation at the front end of the suspected has been effective enough. Vaccine development is costly and let’s face it, the affected don’t have a lot of disposable income.
What do you do?
