More than 20 scientists from five continents led by Montana State University will study bats in Australia, Bangladesh, Madagascar, and Ghana to research disease prevention.
Scientists hope to uncover the complex causes of bat-borne viruses and what has led them to jump to humans, fueling epidemic concerns since 1994. Hundreds have died in places like Malaysia, Bangladesh, and India from such pathogens. That well-founded concern has, in turn, led the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to invest $10 million into the project.
“This research brings together one of the biggest teams in the world working on emerging bat pathogens,” Raina Plowright, assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at MSU and project lead, said. “Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is find new solutions that can prevent people from getting sick.”
Plowright wants to study how viruses are transmitted at the cellular level, as well as national scale. The danger of these viruses evolving greater transmission capability or into the possibility of human-to-human transmission is real. This is especially true because of their lethal nature of the viruses. No vaccine exists for these infections, and three-fourths of those infected will die.
Things like deforestation may play a role in these outbreaks, according to research Plowright has already conducted. This causes bats to flock to urban and agricultural areas. Poor surveillance likely isn’t helping. In all cases, research will proceed when samples from bats are sent to Rocky Mountain Labs for pathogen study. Scientists will analyze them, delve into their genetic makeup and use controlled cell culture experiments to assess their infection capabilities. Field observations and satellite imagery will supplement these efforts.