I knew that bats are often the source of zoonotic viral transmission, but not why bats are such persistent and effective reservoirs of virus. This article (and

I knew that bats are often the source of zoonotic viral transmission, but not why bats are such persistent and effective reservoirs of virus. This article (and the linked review) does a pretty good job of explaining why: that bats more finely modulate their immune response and thus “tolerate” viral infection over long periods. The article then speculates that various environmental stressors reduce immunity and induce heightened viral shedding, ultimately leading to spillover. Long but an interesting read https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2020/why-do-bats-have-so-many-viruses https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2020/why...