Скачать или смотреть Corona virus in Local Bat Populations - What You Need to Know and What to Do

Coronavirus in Local Bat Populations

What Could Happen and What to Do

Because bats often turn up inside homes, homeowners need to be aware of Corona virus-related risk and problems and how it could affect them and our bat species. Earlier this year, I received letters from state game agencies in both Tennessee (TWRA) and Virginia (VDGIF). The theme of both were similar. Both of our local game agencies are concerned that Covid-19 could enter our local bat populations. Adjustments have to be made to the handling of bat in the house and attic bat situations. Home owners need to be made aware of this. Unfortunately, Covid-19 is going to make bat removal an entirely different affair.

Covid-19 is (or was) endemic to bat species in China. For a local bat to contract this new virus they would have to somehow make contact with a Chinese bat infected with the Corona virus which, to this point, was restricted to another continent. Fortunately, none of our bats migrate to China so transmission between the continents did not occur. Our bats were protected by the vast expanse of our oceans and other geographic barriers. There was no possible way for the virus to enter our local bat populations...until now.

Background – Human/Wildlife Disease Crossover

Wildlife species all have their own species-specific list of diseases that they carry. If the disease has been present for a while, the population has probably developed a resistance to that disease and it is not that likely to cause major problem. However, the problem comes when that disease crosses over from one species to another (and that includes humans) that have not developed resistance to that disease. This is something that wildlife control and management professionals are trained to consider in their work every day. This is exactly what has happened in Wuhan, China. “Wildlifers” know that once a new pathogen is in a population it is hard to impossible to control.

How Would the Disease Cross Between Humans and Bats?

Each year thousands of people across the United States find a bat inside their home. Usually the bat is noticed as it flutters in circles around a room or hanging on the drapes. People in this situation find themselves searching a lot of different questions like: “How do I get rid of this bat” and “Could this bat be rabid”. This year is different though. People who find a bat in their house will also have to consider transmission of Covid-19 between humans and bats.

There are probably millions of homes across the country that are host to bat maternity colonies. The females choose to do this because attics present a predator-secure roosting spot that will keep their furless babies warm at night. It also presents an entry point that is high enough off the ground to make entry and exit easy. (Something that is important to a momma bat.) In late summer, bats tend to occasionally wander down and find their way into the house where they encounter people. This is when the trouble is likely to start, so I am writing this article to make the public aware of the possibility of a surprise turn of events in our local bat fauna and necessary precautions to be made.

Local Bats May Be Susceptible

Normally, wildlife professionals are concerned with diseases that could cross from wildlife to humans like Rabies, Hantavirus, Salmonella, etc. In this case, however, things are much more complicated. Infection would not start from bat to bat contact. Early in the process, we are more concerned with the prospect of humans infecting the bats. This would happen when people and bats came into contact and the disease were transmitted to a bat from an infected person. If this happens, all bets are off. Research is currently being done and all we really know is that our local bats can carry other types of Coronaviruses. This suggest that our local bats would be susceptible to the new virus that has entered the country. This is cause for great concern. Covid-19 may enter our local bat population and then create serious problems for humans and bats.

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