The relationship between bats and human coronavirus: An exploratory review
| Autor: | Sajal BHATTACHARYA, Shakya SINHA, Rina TILAK, Sugeng Juwono MARDIHUSODO |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Health and Social Sciences, Vol 5, Iss 2, Pp 219-230 (2020) |
| ISSN: | 2499-2240 2499-5886 |
| Popis: | Introduction: Bats are known to harbour several coronaviruses including the progenitor of Severe Acu- te Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has caused COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has unwittingly fueled widespread apprehension and fear in the general public about bats. Aim of this paper was to review human coronaviruses in bats, the possible transmission dynami- cs of bat-borne viruses, and the impact of deforestation and climate change on bats. Methods: A narrative review was conducted by using electronic databases- PubMed/Medline, Google scholar, Wiley Online Library, Semantic Scholar, and medXiriv- for searching all types of peer-reviewed and not peer-reviewed articles in English language, published from 2002 to 2020. All the findings and ob- servations in this review were listed in references and main findings were summarized in a table. Results: Certain species of bats are being progressively acknowledged as important natural reservoirs for se- veral groups of viruses; some of which cause epidemics. Anthropogenic activities like encroachment of wildlife habitat, deforestation, developmental activities and close encounter with wild animals, cause disturbances in ecosystem functioning. This ecological imbalance threatens the bat populations and creates selection pressure leading to random mutations in the viruses. This may eventually cause viral spillover to humans and other ani- mal hosts due to forced proximity, leading to outbreaks of novel diseases. Although bats are considered likely reservoirs of most of the human coronaviruses causing epidemics, yet they cannot be considered as a public health threat as the transmission dynamics is influenced by human behavior/ activities. Conclusion: The complex eco-epidemiological situation calls for a judicious approach in assessing the role of bats in nature. Bats, on their own, may not pose public health threat, however there is a need to adopt comprehensive environmental health management policies based on the principles of conservation medici- ne to address this likely public health threat from bats. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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