Bats, Pathogens, and Species Richness

Abstract

Bats carry many viruses, but this is not sufficient to threaten humans. Viruses must mutate to generate the ability to transfer to humans. A key factor is the diversity of species. With 1400 species of bats (20% of all species of mammals), the diversity of bats species is highly favorable to the emergence of new viruses. Moreover, several species of bats live within the same location, and share advanced social behavior, favoring the transmission of viruses. Because they fly, bats are also hosts for a wide range of viruses from many environments. They also eat everything (including what humans eat), they share humans’ environment and become closer to domestic species, which can serve as relays between bats and humans. Bats also have a long-life expectancy (up to 40 years for some bats), which is particularly effective for transmission to humans. However, a recent publication came out challenging what we think about bats. Proportionally, bats may not carry a higher number of zoonotic pathogens, normalized by species richness, compared to other mammalian and avian species. Viral zoonotic risk is homogenous among taxonomic orders of mammalian and avian reservoir hosts, without evidence that bats carry more viruses that infect humans.