In Peru there is a species of bat

Containing deadly pathogens, vampire bats are indeed as dangerous as their names are.

With people in Peru and Belize, they are so familiar with bats that are dubbed vampires: demon bats.

There is such a scary name because this bat can only live with the blood of other animals , just like the mythical demon sucking blood in myths. However, they are not too scary for humans, because their main object is cattle.

Vampire bat.

However, at the end of September, a study at the University of Montana (USA) showed evidence that this bat is really dangerous as its name suggests. That's because they carry deadly Bartonella germs.

You should know, Bartonella bacteria can cause endocarditis, infection of the lining of the heart, seriously threatening the lives of animals and humans.

According to scientists, demon bats are creatures that can carry very high pathogens. In addition, Bartonella bacteria are anaerobic, meaning they can transmit disease from animals to humans.

Pathogen Bartonella.

Often, scientists will focus on studying the transmission of Bartonella to humans, but therefore neglect another important problem. That's how Bartonella can spread in populations of bats and other organisms?

Therefore, scientists have conducted research, considering the risk of infection of vampire bats.

Within two years, scientists collected and analyzed blood samples, saliva and their droppings. In order for the research results to be more accurate, the authors also conducted research on the relationship of age, gender, forearm size as well as their fertility.

The results of the study were unexpected! Most males are more likely to be infected with pathogens, when nearly 67% of the samples tested positive for Bartonella.

This bat species can only live with the blood of other animals.

Not only here, scientists also attempt to analyze the sequence of genomes of infected animals, to examine the ways in which they spread germs.

Like humans and other animals, demon bats are infected with Bartonella through fleas or lice stings. However, scientists have found that they can spread disease in the bat community through saliva, or through contaminated air.

Dr. Daniel Becker, author of the study, shared: "Due to being close to humans and many other species, the rate of attack and infection of vampire bat species is extremely high. In addition, we still have want to understand their relationship with the surrounding environment, to get more information about the engine, as well as how bats spread germs to other organisms ".

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