Prime Highlights
- China discovered 20 new viruses from bats, two of which resemble the Nipah and Hendra viruses that have been responsible for causing death in humans.
- The bat kidney viruses can spill over into livestock and humans and cause infection of the brain and lungs.
Key Facts
- Yunnan bat henipavirus 1 and 2 share over 50% of their genome with highly pathogenic henipaviruses.
- They occur in tissues of the kidneys and are contagious from bat urine to fruits or water sources in the proximity of human habitation.
Key Background
In a recent science breakthrough, researchers discovered 20 new previously unrecognized viruses in Chinese bat colonies in the Yunnan province. They learned this fact by screening the kidney tissue of 142 bats collected between 2017 and 2021. Two of these viruses, the Yunnan bat henipavirus 1 and 2, are most genetically related to Nipah and Hendra viruses, both of which cause fatal brain inflammation and respiratory failure in human beings.
These henipavirus-like viruses are especially a concern in the context that they are found in bat kidneys, which indicates that they might be excreted through the urine. This provides an environmental contamination potential—particularly in the environment shared by bats and humans, like the occurrence of orchards or bodies of water. Scientists opine that this pathway of transmission may result in spillover infection among domestic animals or even among humans themselves.
Virologists have mentioned that though the new viruses are yet to be proven to infect humans, their similarity with the highly reported lethal pathogens presents a critical zoonotic threat. The very danger is further emphasized by the evolutionary pressure of the viruses to adapt and mutate in order to become suited for the new hosts as is thought to be the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
Other than viruses, researchers discovered a new parasite, Klossiella yunnanensis, and a previously unclassified bacterium, Flavobacterium yunnanensis, pointing to the biohazard and biodiversity of bats.
Scientists observe that the success points to further enhanced monitoring of bats—not just feces but even internal organs being checked. This system could prove to be a game-changer in stopping the next pandemic by catching harmful pathogens in the act of spilling over to humans.
