How bats harbour several harmful viruses without falling sick

Bats avoid excessive virus-induced inflammation, often a cause of severe diseases in humans

- R. Prasad

Bats serve as natural hosts for numerous viruses including Ebola virus, Nipah virus, coronoviruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the 2019 novel coronovirus that has infected nearly 10,000 people and killed over 200 others. Even as these viruses cause harm in humans, they rarely if at all cause any harmful effects in bats. This is the case even when the viral load is extremely high in bats.

A study carried out last year and published in the journal Nature Microbiology revealed the mechanism responsible for bats to harbour numerous viruses without themselves getting affected and also live long. Compared with terrestrial mammals, bats have longer lifespan.

How bats differ

The reason why bats can harbour these viruses without getting affected is simply because bats can avoid excessive virus-induced inflammation, which often causes severe diseases in animals and people infected with viruses.