Bats can be awfully cute (and are vital to a healthy environment), but they can also play host to some pretty nasty viruses. One example is a family of potentially deadly viruses known as filoviruses, which includes Ebola.
The largest outbreak of Ebola happened between 2014 and 2016, with more than 11,000 people killed. However, scientists have recently made a major breakthrough when it comes to bats and filoviruses that may help curb the threat of Ebola.
A study published January 12 in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe shared information about a new tool scientists have developed to help identify the particular bat species that carry filoviruses such as Ebola.
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Absolutely 👍 Determining the species that are more likely to host such viruses can also help identify potential areas in danger and prevent significant outbreaks.
Identification and prevention become more important as the level of gases in the atmosphere causing pollution rises, as these heat-trapping gases can increase the risk of Ebola outbreaks.
According to Science Daily, co-leading author of the study Simon Anthony explained, "The fundamental question is, where is the next ebolavirus outbreak going to come from? If we don't know what the wildlife host is, we can't know how, where or when that will be."
Researchers built this latest project off the back of a 2011 study by Kartik Chandran, another co-leading author of the current study.
In the 2011 study, Chandran discovered that Ebola must have a particular protein receptor to bind to in order to take hold. The 2025 study looked at which bat species have this protein receptor, how strongly their receptors bind to Ebola, and whether the species live in areas that have experienced outbreaks in the past.
Finding the answers to those three questions helps determine which bat species have the most potential to act as hosts for the Ebola virus. Accomplishing this could not only aid wildlife surveillance in identifying major hosts of Ebola but also enable scientists to decipher how likely a certain virus is to infect people.
Anthony said in the Science Daily report, "Having information about which species are and are not more likely to be the host reservoir is information we should have."
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