The coronavirus outbreak is nowhere near over and researchers are already trying to discover what will hit us next. Their goal is to identify other viruses that may be highly contagious to humans and use that information to stop them. It may seem early to study this, but scientists say that its highly likely another novel virus will jump from animal to human host and spread as fast as this one did. Bats may hold the key.
Source: Los Angeles Times, December 14, 2020. Link. It’s not a question of if but when, according to Dr. Gangadeep Kang, an infectious diseases expert at Christian Medical College at Vellore in southern India.
INSIGHTS: With more than 1,400 species of bats out there and all of them believed to have evolved a benefit of carrying viruses with few problems, it’s important to understand what possibilities bats, primates, wild cats and domestic cats offer. It’s also critical to understand what human activities, such as deforestation, will contribute to the next pandemic