Did the new coronavirus come for bats?
It now appears that bats maintain social distance as well, which may aid in the prevention of the spread of contagious diseases in their colonies. Researchers from Tel Aviv University showed in a recent study that sick bats, like unwell humans, prefer to be away from their groups, most likely to heal and to protect others.
Dr. Kelsey Moreno, a postdoctoral researcher, and PhD candidate Maya Weinberg conducted the research in the laboratory of Prof. Yossi Yovel, Head of the Sagol School of Neuroscience and a researcher at the School of Zoology at the George S. Marshall Faculty of Life Sciences.
Egyptian fruit bats are the latest among the social animals shown to hunker down and perch on their lonesome when ill, potentially reducing infection rates in their community
An Egyptian fruit bat (Seregraff via iStock by Getty Images)
Bats are widely believed to have given the novel coronavirus to humans. But Israeli researchers say they have probably spared us from numerous other diseases, thanks to their largely unnoticed social distancing behavior.
Tel Aviv University scientists have just published peer-reviewed research observing that bats that feel unwell stay “home” in their caves, reducing interaction with other species.
They observed that sick bats also stay away from their peers at the slightest hint of feeling inflammation in their bodies, after making five Egyptian fruit bats sick and following them in a large colony for 72 hours. The researchers used onboard GPS to track foraging, acceleration sensors to monitor movement, infrared video to record social behavior, and blood samples to measure immune markers.
Humans are not the only ones to go into isolation at the sign of illness. A new study from Tel Aviv University has shown that sick bats also use social distancing, possibly to prevent the spread of mass contagion in their colonies.
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