Nova saznanja o šišmišima kao nosiocima novootkrivenih virusa

• Main Author: Calisher, C.H.
• Format: Text
• Language: Croatian
• Published: University Hospital for Infectious Diseases 'Dr. Fran Mihaljević' Zagreb and the Croatian Society for Infectious Diseases of the Croatian Medical Association 2006
• Subjects: Šišmiši; šišmišii koji se hrane voćem; leteće lisice; emergentni virusi; rezervar domaćin; Bats; fruit bats; flying fox; emerging viruses; reservoir host; Antarc*; Antarctica; Antarktika
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/12648; http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/19468

Šišmiši (red Chiroptera, podred Megachiroptera – (»leteće lisice«) i Microchiroptera) su mnogobrojni, raznoliki sisavci koji se nalaze na svim kontinentima svijeta osim Antarktika. Iako šišmiši imaju korisnu ulogu u prirodi, mnogi se hrane insektima, brojne vrste šišmiša su danas ugrožene. Karakteristike ovih sisavaca uključuju određenu prehranu i život u kolonijama ili samostalno, mogućnost letenja, cikličke migracije i svakodnevno tipično letenje, sposobnost ulaska u stanje mirovanja (torpor ili hibernacija), dugotrajan životni ciklus, boravak u skrovištima, jedinstvena sposobnost eholokacije, njihova prijemljivost na viruse čini ih pogodnim domaćinima za viruse, ali i za bakterije, parazite, gljive i razne druge uzročnike bolesti. Iako su šišmiši određenih vrsta već otprije bili poznati po mogućnosti prenošenja virusa bjesnoće, rijetko su bili proučavani kao domaćini drugih virusa. Nedavne pojave i epidemije novih prepoznatih bolesti u ljudi i životinja uzrokovani virusima koje prenose šišmiši privukli su zanimanje znanstvenika za ove sisavce. Ovaj pregled donosi osnovne podatke o njihovim srodnim karakteristikama te informacije o 66 virusa izoliranih u šišmiša. Postoji brojna literatura o biologiji šišmiša koja se odnosi na njihov usko definirani karakter, uključujući mogućnost eholokacije, prehranu i rasprostranjenost, ali je oskudna što se tiče opće biologije šišmiša. Također je jasno da su zakoni o zaštiti šišmiša neadekvatni te da smo tek započeli proučavati jedno neotkriveno područje uloge šišmiša u pojavnosti nekih bolesti. Bats (order Chiroptera, suborders Megachiroptera (»flying foxes«) and Microchiroptera) are abundant, diverse, and have been found on all continents except Antarctica. Although bats provide us with certain resources and many feed on insects, many populations of bats are at risk, threatened or endangered. The characteristics of these mammals include particular diets, colonial or solitary nature, ability to fly, cyclic migrations and daily movement patterns, the ability to enter torpor or to hibernate, long life span, roosting behaviors, a unique capacity to echolocate and, critically, their susceptibility to viruses make them suitable hosts of viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, and other disease agents. Although bats of certain species have long been known to transmit Rabies virus, they have been only rarely studied as hosts of viruses. Recent outbreaks and epidemics of newly recognized human and livestock diseases caused by bat-transmitted viruses have attracted the interest of scientific investigators to these mammals. This review summarizes germane facts regarding the characteristics of bats and provides information regarding 66 viruses that have been isolated from them. The literature on the biology of bats is abundant with respect to narrowly defined characters, including echolocation, diet, and distribution, but it is deficient with respect to bat biology in general. In addition, it is clear that bat conservation policies are inadequate and that we have merely begun to scratch the surface of a field of discovery regarding the roles of bats in disease emergence.