Ebola Clue Lurks in 10 Million Zambian Bats

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Tue, 2015-01-13 17:58 — mike kraft

BLOOMBERG by Matthew Hill Jan. 12, 2015

At 4:50 a.m. at the Kasanka National Park in northern Zambia, tourists watch from a platform in a tree as the sound of millions of wings accompanies the sunrise.

Straw-coloured Fruit Bats fly in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. Photographer: Fabian von Poser/Getty Images

About 10 million straw-colored fruit bats are returning from a night of feeding, some flying as far as 100 kilometers (62 miles) to feast on berries and figs. The animals may hold a clue to finding the cure for the Ebola disease that’s killed more than 8,000 people in west Africa in the biggest-ever outbreak, according to Aaron Mweene, professor at the University of Zambia’s veterinary medicine school. That outbreak, which is yet to be quelled, has been blamed on bats.

Researchers including scientists from Japan’s Hokkaido University did a study that found a high prevalence of Ebola antibodies in the creatures that undertake the world’s second-largest mammal migration from the Democratic Republic of Congo to roost in Zambia, Mweene said. That indicates that they come into contact with the virus and are able to cure themselves.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-11/ebola-clue-may-lurk-in-10-million-bats-in-zambian-fig-trees.html

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