蝙蝠或成为禽流感的下一个未知因素

Bats have become the latest mammals known to be susceptible to H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian in- fluenza virus responsible for bird flu. In Peru, over a dozen vampire bats have been found carrying H5N1 antibodies, indicating expo- sure to the virus, researchers report at bioRxiv.org. The finding is “very worrisome,” says virus ecologist Vincent Munster of the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Mont., who was not involved in the study. Each time the virus jumps to a new mammalian host, he says, it gains opportunities to mutate and evolve, poten- tially bringing it closer to spreading among people. And vampire bats may not be the only bat species at risk. …