Detecting deadly virus in the bat

Scientists have found deadly Marburg virus in a fruit-eating bat in Africa. This is the first time this virus has been detected in an animal other than the monkey.

Bats were caught in western African countries, in Gabon and Congo. But the results of the tests, proving that the bats that caused the two recent Marburg infections were in Uganda.

Scientists are not sure how the Marburg virus spreads to humans, but after years of research, they think bats are the culprits involved. This is a significant finding in pointing out the right research direction for scientists.

There are many scientists from research centers and the World Health Organization, focusing on the western part of Uganda, following the death last month of a 29-year-old man working in a mining field. lead waterfall.

Rousettus aegyptiacus bat (Photo: Tropicarium)

The man died of the Marburg virus, a rare virus first discovered in 1967, with relatives of the Ebola virus. Patients infected with Marburg virus will die very quickly, possibly accompanied by terrifying manifestations: bleeding in the eyes, ears and in other parts of the body. Another miner here is also believed to have been infected with the Marburg virus.

"The virus is scary ," said Professor James Steinberg, a researcher in infectious diseases at Emory Medical University. Scientists say they conducted tests on 1,100 bats, representing 10 species. They found Marburg virus only in a single bat species with the scientific name ' Rousettus aegyptiacus '.

These are fruit-eating bats found in many parts of the world, they often reside in caves. The four ' Rousettus aegyptiacus ' bats tested tested positive, but the other two also showed a positive result, but at least in the body they showed signs of low-level antibodies against the virus. Marburg.

Marburg virus (Photo: static.flickr.com)

Through tests, scientists believe that some animals are immune to the Marburg virus. The study of animals that contain 'Marburg' virus will help scientists to better understand the ways in which the Marburg virus works in living organisms and find strategies to fight them. Currently, it is unclear whether bats can ' live ' with the Marburg virus, but the way they are infected is the same as in humans.

In Uganda, when they went to study a cave, the scientists noticed that miners were regularly exposed to bat manure through bare hands and feet. Marburg virus can infect miners through this contact. They also note that at least two species of bats have been found in the upper cave, including the species containing the Marburg virus. Scientists will have to spend a few more months to get the results of tests on bats in Uganda.

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