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BENGALURU: Several researchers from various universities and conservation organizations spread across nine countries, including India, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and the USA. Arguing that it is premature and unfair to blame bats or any other animal for the Covid-19 pandemic since the exact origin of SARS-CoV-2 or its precursor is unknown, they have urged people not to villainize the bats.
Referring to the growing unverified posts on social media that have led to great dislike and fear in the general public: Incidents of the public calling for the removal of bats, the destruction of bat shelters, have increased in the Last month in India, they said the viruses found in two species of bats in India, according to the latest ICMR study, are different from SARS-CoV-2 and cannot cause Covid-19.
“Information on current and past outbreaks of zoonotic diseases suggests that the global wildlife trade and / or large-scale industrial livestock plays an important role in such events. Killing bats and other wild animals, or expelling them from their shelters in retaliation, is counterproductive and will not solve any problems, “read a joint statement by 64 investigators.
They argue that bats, in fact, perform vital ecosystem services: they pollinate the flowers of some mangroves and many other commercially and culturally important plants. Insect-eating bats are voracious pest insect eaters on rice, corn, cotton, and potentially tea farms. Therefore, they say, bats benefit ecological and human health, and provide intangible economic benefits.
Claiming that none of the bats in South Asia have been shown to be natural reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2, they said that scientists strongly suggest that SARS-like viruses are highly unlikely to jump directly from bats into humans. Furthermore, there is no evidence that humans contract coronaviruses or any of these viruses through bat excreta.
Recently, an ICMR study found bat coronavirus (BtCoV) in the Indian flying fox and the fruit bat Fulvous. “However, less than 5% of the samples tested contained this BtCoV and, as the study mentions, it is very distantly related to SARS-CoV-2 and therefore cannot cause Covid-19,” they said.
“Society currently needs more awareness about the bats that surround them, in addition to epidemiological data for a healthy coexistence. “We urge the governments of South Asian countries to strengthen the legal framework to protect bats in view of their ecosystem services and slow reproductive capacity,” added the researchers.
The actual origin of SARS-CoV-2 is hotly debated among scientists. “SARS-CoV-2 appears to be similar to another RaTG13 coronavirus found in a species of bat called the Intermediate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus affinis). However, a recent study has shown that RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2 diverged 40-70 years ago from each other (a long period of time for virus evolution) and thus direct transmission of SARS-CoV -2 or its precursor to bats for humans is unlikely, “the researchers said.
Furthermore, they added that the surface proteins of all SARS-like viruses found in bats cannot efficiently bind to the corresponding receptors of human lung epithelium, making direct transmission even more unlikely.
“It is also highly unlikely that bat feces pose an immediate risk to human health and that none of the previous zoonotic disease outbreaks worldwide show evidence that they were caused by contact with feces from human bats. bats. ” However, fungal infections (for example, histoplasmosis) can arise from unprotected contact with the feces of any wild animal, so it is recommended to follow the basic rules of hygiene, “added the statement.
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Referring to the growing unverified posts on social media that have led to great dislike and fear in the general public: Incidents of the public calling for the removal of bats, the destruction of bat shelters, have increased in the Last month in India, they said the viruses found in two species of bats in India, according to the latest ICMR study, are different from SARS-CoV-2 and cannot cause Covid-19.
“Information on current and past outbreaks of zoonotic diseases suggests that the global wildlife trade and / or large-scale industrial livestock plays an important role in such events. Killing bats and other wild animals, or expelling them from their shelters in retaliation, is counterproductive and will not solve any problems, “read a joint statement by 64 investigators.
They argue that bats, in fact, perform vital ecosystem services: they pollinate the flowers of some mangroves and many other commercially and culturally important plants. Insect-eating bats are voracious pest insect eaters on rice, corn, cotton, and potentially tea farms. Therefore, they say, bats benefit ecological and human health, and provide intangible economic benefits.
Claiming that none of the bats in South Asia have been shown to be natural reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2, they said that scientists strongly suggest that SARS-like viruses are highly unlikely to jump directly from bats into humans. Furthermore, there is no evidence that humans contract coronaviruses or any of these viruses through bat excreta.
Recently, an ICMR study found bat coronavirus (BtCoV) in the Indian flying fox and the fruit bat Fulvous. “However, less than 5% of the samples tested contained this BtCoV and, as the study mentions, it is very distantly related to SARS-CoV-2 and therefore cannot cause Covid-19,” they said.
“Society currently needs more awareness about the bats that surround them, in addition to epidemiological data for a healthy coexistence. “We urge the governments of South Asian countries to strengthen the legal framework to protect bats in view of their ecosystem services and slow reproductive capacity,” added the researchers.
The actual origin of SARS-CoV-2 is hotly debated among scientists. “SARS-CoV-2 appears to be similar to another RaTG13 coronavirus found in a species of bat called the Intermediate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus affinis). However, a recent study has shown that RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2 diverged 40-70 years ago from each other (a long period of time for virus evolution) and thus direct transmission of SARS-CoV -2 or its precursor to bats for humans is unlikely, “the researchers said.
Furthermore, they added that the surface proteins of all SARS-like viruses found in bats cannot efficiently bind to the corresponding receptors of human lung epithelium, making direct transmission even more unlikely.
“It is also highly unlikely that bat feces pose an immediate risk to human health and that none of the previous zoonotic disease outbreaks worldwide show evidence that they were caused by contact with feces from human bats. bats. ” However, fungal infections (for example, histoplasmosis) can arise from unprotected contact with the feces of any wild animal, so it is recommended to follow the basic rules of hygiene, “added the statement.
