Research Reveals New Bat Virus Could Hold Key to Hendra Virus

The key to unlocking the Hendra virus could lie in a bat virus, research suggests.

"Field work with bats is an essential part of research into identifying new viruses," Dr Hume Field of Biosecurity Queensland said. "Bats are being implicated as the natural host of a growing number of viruses in Australia and overseas, yet they appear to tolerate infection themselves making bat research increasingly important."

Bats have been identified as playing a role in the spread of viruses including Ebola, Marburg, SARS and Melaka yet they are an essential part of our diverse ecosystem through their role as pollinators, seed dispersers and insect regulators.



Source: Eurekalert