Filtered By: Scitech
SciTech
WATCH

Bat species in Mindanao tests positive for a strain of coronavirus, study finds


A study conducted by the University of the Philippines Mindanao has detected betacoronavirus in a bat species in the region.

According to lead researcher Lyre Anni Murao, they found the virus in the long-tongued nectar bat (macroglossus minimus) after their three-year-long study.

One out of 49 bats tested positive for betacoronavirus, with a 2.04 percent detection rate.

 

"Bats have been known to be reservoir of viruses. And ibig sabihin ng reservoir, they carry the viruses in their body but they are not affected by the viruses," Murao said in an episode of Stand for Truth.

"Coronaviruses have been living with these bats for a very long time already. Interestingly, we also found out that these coronaviruses belong to a different group compared to the SARS and the MERS coronaviruses," she added.

According to Dr. Ferchito Avelino, Director of Epidemiology Bureau at the Department of Health (DOH), the novel coronavirus stemmed from the same virus family as SARS and MERS — the betacoronavirus.

"'Yung MERS, 'yung SARS, 'yung nCoV are all family ng betacoronavirus. Sila ang known to have caused mga severe type of respiratory tract infection," he said.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the virus found in the long-tongued nectar bat is already a threat.

Murao said the virus undergoes a mutation and adapts to the body of the host.

She advised avoiding disrupting the habitats of bats, which play an important part in ecology, being the natural pollinator of the forest.

"There's no evidence yet that they can be linked to human cases," she clarified.

"As long as we keep the habitats of the bat intact, we do not disturb their habitats, there is a less chance of exposure of the humans to the bats," she added.

The DOH has just confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus.

—JCB, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT