By catching bats, these ‘virus hunters’ hope to stop the next pandemic The wider picture

By catching bats, these ‘virus hunters’ hope to stop the next pandemic The wider picture

by

Researchers wearing headlights and protective suits are rushing to catch the claws and wings of bats in a large net after dark in the Philippine province of Laguna.

The small animals are carefully placed in cloth bags to be taken away, measured and peeled off, recorded with details and saliva and feces are collected for analysis before being returned to nature.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“As we continue to make close contact with wildlife, we are deliberately exposing ourselves to disease and danger. If we can not stop it, we might as well develop controls to reduce the consequences of possible future outbreaks, at least. “why this research is important. By having the basic data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can somehow predict possible outbreaks and establish appropriate, healthy and scientifically based health protocols,” Kirk said. Taray, a bat ecologist, said. .

Apart from the work in the laboratory, the research requires long field trips, which include hours of thick rainforests and significant night hikes on mountains covered with rocks, tree roots, mud and moss.

The group also sets up bats in buildings, and sets up mist nets before dusk to catch bats and fetch monsters by means of torches.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

Alviola holds a bat caught from Mount Makiling.

Each bat is held steady by the head while researchers insert small patches into their mouths and take up wing teams with plastic clinics, to try to see which of the more than 1,300 species and 20 families of bats are most susceptible to infections and why.

Researchers wear protective suits, masks and gloves when in contact with the bats, as a precaution against catching viruses.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“I teach students and stay a student myself. It’s fun. To be in the field for even 24 hours is to be eight to five in the office,” Cosico said.

“It’s really scary these days,” says Edison Cosico, who assists Alviola. ‘You never know if the bat is already a carrier.

“What we are looking for is to find out if there are more viruses from bats that can be transmitted to humans. We will never know if the next one is just like COVID.”

The majority of those caught are horsetail bats that are known to contain coronaviruses, including the closest known relative of the new coronavirus.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“With the ongoing pandemic, more caution is taken into account when studying bats. Various measures and protocols are put in place to protect both the researchers and the bats. The community guarantee and travel restrictions have presented problems, especially to access potential areas of study. to get, Taray said.

The exposure of humans and closer interaction with wildlife has meant that the risk of transmitting diseases is now higher than ever, said Kirk Taray, bat ecologist.

“By having basic data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can somehow predict possible outbreaks.”

PHOTO EDITING MARIKA KOCHIASHVILI; MARTIN PETTY WRITES, KARISHMA SINGH EDITED; EXPLANATION JULIA DALRYMPLE

.Source