According to the global bat database, scientists have found more than 465,438+000 viruses in nearly 200 species of bats, including more than 500 coronaviruses and more than 60 viruses that cause human and animal diseases. Nature's Living Virus Bank? ! Marburg virus, Ebola virus, SARS virus, MERS virus, Hendra virus, Nipah virus and rabies virus, the most dangerous viruses in the world are all related to bats. Are they worthy of the name? Poison king? !
As for why bats become natural super virus banks, scientists have such a concentrated speculation. First of all, there are many kinds of bats, which are widely distributed and huge in number, and their footprints are almost all over the world. They are natural reservoir that viruses like very much. Secondly, bats generally like to live in dark and humid caves, and this living environment itself is easy to breed all kinds of viruses and bacteria. There are bats that like to flock, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands. They live in close proximity, and the crowded environment and close contact enable the virus to spread and mutate rapidly among bats. Finally, bats live a long life. As the only mammal with real flying ability, bats can migrate long distances with the change of seasons, which greatly increases the spread range and probability of the virus. Such a super-living virus bank, if eaten or touched improperly by human beings, may be infected with deadly viruses, endanger human health, and even lead to life-threatening large-scale plague events.