New Study Examines Drivers of Viral Diversity in Bats
Disease Modeling of Bat Species Gives Insight to Larger Threat
NEW YORK – January 12, 2010 – In a recently published paper in the journal EcoHealth, Wildlife Trust Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Kevin J. Olival, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Amy S. Turmelle, report on variation in the viral diversity known among bat species. The paper details how the team examined over thirty bat species and compared specific life history, genetic and ecological traits to explain patterns of viral abundance. The research shows that many bat species host an overwhelming amount of pathogens and further looks to uncover which factors drive differences in viral richness across species.
“We began this research with the knowledge that many bat species carry diseases with great consequence for human health. What we wanted to understand was if factors of biodiversity and species-specific traits actually lead to increased numbers of viruses in these animals,” said Dr. Olival. Evolutionary and ecological processes can have profound impacts on species diversity and disease virulence. Bats are known to be the reservoir for many diseases including SARS, Ebola and the deadly Nipah virus. There are roughly seventy known viruses from bats and the team reviewed virus records for over thirty bat species.
“Our work studying bats is important for many reasons including their vital ecological role in pollination and seed dispersal. We know that bats are the reservoir for disease as demonstrated with the emergence of SARS over a decade ago, and even though bats are often vilified and in some cultures hunted for food and sport there’s still so much we don’t know about these animals,” commented Dr. Peter Daszak, president of Wildlife Trust. He continued, “Wildlife Trust is currently implementing the recently launched USAID’s PREDICT program aimed at detecting and predicting diseases (zoonoses) that move between wildlife and people – a core aspect of Wildlife Trust’s mission.”
“Our study demonstrates that effort devoted to studying different bat species greatly impacts the number of viruses that are known from each host, highlighting the need for increased surveillance to uncover novel viruses among bats. Advancing our knowledge of bat zoonoses is critically important for bat conservation and public health,” states Dr. Turmelle. The investigation also noted that bats that were more endangered than others were shown to have higher viral richness, and that the taxonomy or genetic relationships among bat hosts was not an important predictor of the number of viruses each species may harbor.
The study highlights the importance of understanding species-specific characteristics for predicting overall viral diversity in wildlife. This approach could greatly aid future pathogen discovery by focusing sampling efforts to species with potentially greater viral richness and, hence, greater likelihood of hosting novel zoonotic pathogens. Work led by Dr. Olival at Wildlife Trust is currently underway to examine these variables as drivers of viral diversity for other wildlife.
Click here to access the paper online
About Wildlife Trust
Wildlife Trust empowers local conservation scientists worldwide to protect nature and safeguard ecosystem and human health. Wildlife Trust is a conservation science innovator and leverages research expertise through strategic global alliances. Wildlife Trust pioneered the field of Conservation Medicine, a new discipline that addresses the link between ecological disruption of habitats and the effects on wildlife, livestock and human health.
Founded in 1971 by British naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, Wildlife Trust has built its reputation on 35 years of global research, education, training and experience. Research and conservation work in the United States include programs in Florida and along the coast of the Southeastern U.S.
Internationally, Wildlife Trust trains and supports a network of scientists around the world to save endangered species and their habitats and to protect the health of vital ecosystems. Wildlife Trust created the first egalitarian international network of science-based conservation organizations called the Wildlife Trust Alliance and is a founding partner organization of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, a unique think-tank of prestigious academic institutions.
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