In some countries, bats are known as "winged dragons", flying rats" or the "evil ones". For more than two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic, bats were blamed for the virus that caused millions of infections and deaths around the world.
The Jerusalem Post reported that researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel declared that there is no scientific evidence that says the virus came from the bats, which has caused unnecessary stress and confusion around the world. Bats are highly misunderstood animals, but for wildlife ecologists, these flying creatures are beautiful and incredible.
Bats Have Highly Effective Immune System
Researchers wrote in their study, titled "Revising the Paradigm: Are Bats Really Pathogen Reservoirs or Do They Possess an Efficient Immune System?" published in the journal Science, that bats have a highly effective immune system that helps them easily deal with various viruses deemed lethal for other mammals.
Study lead author Dr. Maya Weinberg, who works in the lab of TAU's Sagol School of Neuroscience, head Professor Yossi Yovel and her team conducted a meta-analysis by reviewing dozens of leading articles and studies about the origins of COVID-19 relating to bats.
They found that evidence has been accumulating in recent years about bats being capable of coping with different viruses better than humans and most animals. Most research over the century is focused on viruses in bats that show these mammals have a restrained response to inflammation.
Previous studies suggest that bats have developed an increased defense response and immune tolerance towards viruses through different mechanisms. The study raises questions regarding the possibility of bats being the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the findings recommend studying in-depth the capabilities of bats.
Why Bats Should Not Be Blamed for COVID-19
According to BBC News, experts have launched a campaign called "Don't Blame Bats" to dispel unfounded myths about these flying mammals that cause fear among people and threaten their conservation.
Experts said that bats are one of the most misunderstood and undervalued animals. Sadly, they are the target of disdain, persecution, and cultural prejudice that have been blamed for negative events or as hosts of evils. There have been myths about them that only intensified during the pandemic.
Their infamous reputation is well known in the scientific community and the public at large, which is why they are sometimes called the "blood-sucking Draculas" or reservoirs of viruses. Being a reservoir for the virus means that they survived the disease and developed an immune response.
In the new study, Weinberg and her colleagues sought to disprove these erroneous theories and myths to emphasize the importance of bats in the food chain and the whole ecosystem. They claim that even though there is evidence of bat SARS-like coronavirus, the exact origin of COVID-19 is still unknown until now.
Despite that, most researchers from around the world agree that the virus is a zoonotic virus in which it crossed into humans from an animal species and the most likely suspect are bats. However, that does not mean bats are to blame given that humans also do their fair share of interfering with wild animals and their habitats.
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