Surveillance of zoonoses in flying foxes

If the current COVID-19 pandemic has taught us one thing, it is that monitoring zoonotic diseases in potential vectors and hosts is crucial for anticipating this kind of event. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have therefore sought to monitor local bat populations, specifically gray-headed flying foxes that settled in South Australia in 2010 and may carry paramyxoviruses (Hendra, Cedar, and Tioman) and rhabdoviruses (Australian bat lyssavirus). The Hendra virus is transmitted to horses and then to humans via airborne droplets, causing acute respiratory illness and death, whereas humans and other animals must be bitten or scratched by a carrier to contract the lyssavirus, which causes serious illnesses in humans, including paralysis, delirium, convulsions, and death. The scientists detail three years of research and discovered antibodies against the Hendra, Cedar , and Tioman viruses in the flying fox population , indicating that they had been exposed to these viruses at some point in their lives. However, there were no signs of exposure to the lyssavirus. That’s good news! Although endangered, gray-headed flying foxes play a vital role in ecosystems, contributing to large-scale pollination and seed dispersal. As carriers of diseases—often without showing symptoms—it is important to assess the risks they pose to human health.