4 ms·
No, bats do NOT carry Covid-19. We were actually prevented by the USFWS from performing winter hibernacula counts for fear that we humans might spread Covid to
by driggs 4y ago
No, bats do NOT carry Covid-19.
We were actually prevented by the USFWS from performing winter hibernacula counts for fear that we humans might spread Covid to bats, whose immune system practically shuts down during hibernation, until it was determined that this isn't possible.
Besides, the bats which are primarily killed by wind turbines are not cave-roosting bats, but high-flying tree bats. Bats either have a strategy of hibernation or migration, and it is these larger migratory tree bats which fall prey to turbines.
Echo-reflective surfaces wouldn't make a difference. Bats aren't killed by colliding with turbine blades, they are killed by barotrauma when flying NEAR the high-velocity low-pressure turbine blades when they try to investigate the large, moving, novel objects. I repeat, the most effective way to prevent bat deaths at wind farms is to curtail (brake) turbine blades during low-wind conditions; a 25-gram bat doesn't fly in high winds, and turbines are least efficient in low winds.
Source: I perform bat echolocation surveys, including on wind farm sites.
- solardev 4y agoIs there something special about bats that make them immune to covid-19? Why can't they carry it the way that deer, cats, etc. can?
- driggs 4y agoDisclaimer: This is out of my area of expertise. Bats, in general, are susceptible to coronaviruses, in general, as are all mammals. But not all mammals are susceptible to all coronaviruses. The disease Covid-19 is caused by the specific coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and that specific mutated virus only affects certain mammals, notably humans. It is apparently contagious to some other mammals, including deer, cats, minks, but not contagious to some other mammals. I have read that coronaviruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 have been found in Horseshoe Bats in Asia (note: there are no Horseshoe Bats in North America), but that do not have a binding protein which would allow them to infect humans; I believe the opposite is true of SARS-CoV-2, it binds to a human receptor but not to bats'. It is hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 may have mutated from a bat-borne coronavirus, but several intermediate links between species must have been involved (Pangolins?), and it is perhaps this chain of binding mutations responsible for this difference in hosts. Though we no longer handle bats with bare hands these days (to protect bats from us!), this was common practice for decades. Other than rabies (which can be spread by any mammal, and occurs in bats in no higher percentage than in skunks, foxes, etc), I'm not aware of any known disease which can be spread from North American or European microbats to humans. I don't have specific knowledge about megabats (fruit bats) or Asian or African species.
- solardev 4y agoStill, thank you for the clear explanation! It may not be your area of expertise, but it still taught me a lot. Thank you.