Reproduction of East-African bats may guide risk mitigation for coronavirus spillover.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bats provide important ecosystem services; however, current evidence supports that they host several zoonotic viruses, including species of the Coronaviridae family. If bats in close interaction with humans host and shed coronaviruses with zoonotic potential, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus, spillover may occur. Therefore, strategies aiming to mitigate potential spillover and disease emergence, while supporting the conservation of bats and their important ecological roles are needed. Past research suggests that coronavirus shedding in bats varies seasonally following their reproductive cycle; however, shedding dynamics have been assessed in only a few species, which does not allow for generalization of findings across bat taxa and geographic re

SUBMITTER: Montecino-Latorre D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7149079 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature