The Bat Immune System Makes Viruses Stronger
They are the training ground for viruses — a partner in crime.
A study published in Nature in 2017 agrees that “bats harbor a significantly higher proportion of zoonotic viruses than all other mammalian orders.”
Bats are reservoirs for many lethal viruses that have affected humans —such as Ebola, SARS, Marburg, Nipah, rabies, MERS and the latest SARS-Cov-2.
Who knows what else in the future.
Wildlife trade greatly facilitates this zoonotic transmission of viruses from bats to humans. An estimate of 72% of all zoonotic diseases originates from wildlife. No wonder China recently banned all wildlife trade in the market — shattering a multi-billion industry — in response to the rapidly spreading SARS-Cov-2.
Not to mention the fact that bats are the only mammal capable of prolonged flight — enabling them to easily shed viruses to other mammals in many parts of the world.
