Bats

• Main Author: Warrell, David A.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Article; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152214/; https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-55512-8.00140-X

The 1100 species of bats constitute 20% of all mammalian species, distributed in all continents except Antarctica. The only mammals capable of self-powered flying, many can catch insects in complete darkness, using sophisticated echolocation. They are ecologically important in controlling insects, pollinating fruit trees, distributing seeds, and are widely eaten. Many viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites have been isolated from bats. In some cases, direct bat-to-human transmission has been confirmed. Lyssavirus infections transmissible to humans by bats include classic rabies, Duvenhage, European bat lyssaviruses, and Australian bat lyssavirus. Vampire bats (Desmodontinae) transmit classic rabies to humans and domestic animals in Latin America. Insectivorous and frugivorous bats are vectors or reservoirs of at least five Lyssaviruses species, Filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg), Henipaviruses (Hendra and Nipah), and some other viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Bat-transmitted rabies infections can be prevented by vaccination. Vampire bat rabies can be controlled by vaccinating the bats or killing them with anti-coagulants.