View source for OT: Bats and Their Many Diseases

Why does it always come back to bats, when diseases are investigated like Covid, SARS, MERS, hundreds of other coronavirii, Hendra, Nipah, Marburg, a diverse range of influenza viruses, relatives of the human-infecting hepatitis C virus. and suspected Ebola?&nbsp;&nbsp;Bats stand alone in being natural hosts and yet are apparently unaffected, this having been noticed since 1932.<br>
'''[https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/07/the-bat-virus-detente/ The bat-virus détente]'''
[[File:Vampbat.jpg|frameless|left|Vampire bat in flight]]

Bats are the only mammal that can actually fly, not just glide.&nbsp;&nbsp;It is estimated that a bat’s metabolic rate can increase to up to 34 times over its resting level when it takes to the air.&nbsp;&nbsp;By comparison, rodents running to exhaustion exhibit an eightfold increase, and birds on the wing a doubling.&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course bats in the rodent family and birds are in the 'dinosaur' family.

Whenever a complex organism is infected with a pathogen its immune system goes into overdrive, to track down and kill the invader.&nbsp;&nbsp;When a virus injects itself into a cell it steals DNA and uses the cell's resources and machinery to replicate, eventually with the cell bursting with many more copies of the virus.&nbsp;&nbsp;Surrounding tissue develops an inflammatory response, which is like a HELP, HELP sign, calling disease-fighting mechanisms such as antibodies, killer T-cells, etc to the rescue.

BUT there is no regulation of the inflammatory response in most complex organisms, and it can run out of control.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is what kills many of those with Covid-19...  a 'cytokine storm'. ('cyto'=cell, 'kine'= to move/divide)

Now with bats:&nbsp;&nbsp;"''First, the bats mount a speedy but nuanced offensive that stops the virus from multiplying with abandon.&nbsp;&nbsp;Second, and perhaps more important, they dial down the activity of immune foot soldiers that might otherwise cause a massive inflammatory response that would do more damage than the virus itself.''

“''Bats have a lot of this good immune response —suppressing virus replication— that protects them,” Banerjee says.&nbsp;&nbsp;“And they have very little of the not-so-good immune response, which is inflammation.''”

More in the article.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wipe out bats?&nbsp;&nbsp;"''Bats are crucial [https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/why-bats-matter/bats-as-pollinators pollinators of hundreds of plants] including many agriculturally important ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;They aid in seed dispersal, and many are voracious eaters of insects — mosquitos and crop pests importantly among them.&nbsp;&nbsp;And eliminating bats can backfire, with deadly consequences:&nbsp;&nbsp;Killing Egyptian fruit bats in a mine in Uganda led to an influx of new bats and a [https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/10/14-0696_article Marburg virus outbreak], scientists think.''"  (There's always a catch...)

Not only that, but they represent our only chance of understanding a unique and completely different way of fighting disease.

Carl A. Cook