Conducted by the University of Zurich and published in the open-access online academic journal PLOS ONE, 18 different endemic bat species from which samples were taken from 2015-2020 were found to have a wide variety of different viruses. Some of these viruses are zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted to humans. While some of these may not be transmissible to humans directly from bats, they could be transferred to other animals, and then transmitted to humans.
The study was conducted by analyzing DNA and RNA of the various pathogens found in organ, fecal and stool samples taken from the bats.
Of the 39 viral families present in the bats, 16 were able to be transmitted to other vertebrates. These include adenoviruses, which can cause pink eye, pneumonia and viral meningitis; herpesviruses, which can cause herpes; rotaviruses, which can cause stomach flu; and coronaviruses, which can cause numerous diseases, most notably COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic, indeed, is widely believed to have originated with a pathogen carried by bats, which have long been known to be carriers of numerous forms of diseases. However, the exact means of transmission are still up for debate, as many believe the virus that causes COVID-19 was first transmitted from a bat to another animal, and only then was transmitted to humans.
But while the association of bats and diseases was already established – a 2013 Live Science report found that bats could host as many as 60 different viruses that could infect humans – what was most notable about the study was its methodology.The particular means of genomic analysis the researchers utilized was found to be especially effective in monitoring what viruses the bats harbor. In fact, the researchers were able to find that one of the bat colonies they studied carried a nearly complete genome of the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus, known as MERS-CoV. This particular virus can infect humans, causing the MERS disease. Back in 2012, a MERS outbreak originating in Saudi Arabia spread throughout the world, infecting people in over 21 countries, which has not yet truly subsided.
It is believed that MERS has a mortality rate of 35%, according to the World Health Organization, though it is noted that this is likely an overestimate. According to the WHO, the outbreak's origins are not yet understood, but it is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transferred to humans after first being transferred to camels.
Human to human transmission of the virus is rare, and more commonly spreads through animals. Despite this, there is still no vaccine or treatment available.
But according to the study by the University of Zurich, their methodology can help monitor bats and possibly detect in advance any viruses that pose a danger to humans.
And as bats can host so many possibly dangerous diseases like MERS and COVID-19, such a system may be especially beneficial.