Bats and COVID-19 – separating facts from fiction
Given the huge impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on people across the world, questions have naturally been raised about where this new virus came from. In a rush to find answers, bats were initially blamed in a number of media sources.
As a group that is already feared, misunderstood and frequently persecuted, that information has been difficult to set straight, even when backed by science. While people around the world are working together to prevent the spread of COVID-19, misinformation has led to bats being blamed and heavily persecuted.
Unfortunately, we are getting widespread reports that individuals, communities and government authorities are evicting and even killing bats, in a misguided attempt to prevent the spread of this disease. This is making the already difficult job of conserving bats in Africa even harder.
Bats without Borders (BwB) and Bat Conservation Africa (BCA) have put out a joint statement which summarise the facts from fictions to protect both people and bats.
There is no evidence that COVID-19 originated in bats.
Currently, the source of the first human transmission of COVID-19 is still unknown. Reports from the site indicate that no bats were sold at the wildlife market in Wuhan, China. Bats were initially blamed because a virus (Bat CoV RaTG13) found in one insectivorous horseshoe bat species in China in 2013 is a relative of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These viruses are estimated to have diverged 40-70 years ago (Boni et al. 2020), meaning that the two viruses are distant relatives. Scientific investigations are now pointing to a chain of events that may have involved a bat but most likely only through an intermediate animal species.
Bats do not spread COVID-19. COVID-19 is a human disease and as such it is being transmitted from person to person. Bats do not carry SARS-CoV-2 and people cannot get COVID-19 directly from bats. Killing and evicting bats will not prevent the spread of COVID-19 but it will have unnecessary and detrimental impacts on bat populations. The priority to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to follow the guidelines from global health organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), including the practice of social distancing and appropriate hygiene practices.
You can read their full article for more information and facts at www.batswithoutborders.org