No, Aussie bats won’t give you COVID-19. We rely on them more than you think

Fri, 8 May 2020 04:57:03 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/no-aussie-bats-wont-give-you-covid-19-we-rely-on-them-more-than-you-think-137168>

"While several coronaviruses have been detected in various Australian
bat species, none are closely related to those viruses associated with
zoonotic (animal-borne) diseases like COVID-19, SARS and MERS. And none
have been recorded to infect people."

[...]

"There are about 1,400 species of bats worldwide, including 81 in Australia.

All of our bat species are native and unique. Most are small, nocturnal,
and call outside of the human hearing range, so the average Australian
would be lucky to see more than a couple of species in their lifetime.

This is important to remember when it comes to thinking about how often
they actually interact with people."

Our Aussie bats are both useful and adorable.

Cheers,
        *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net                   Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/             Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/                Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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