Article Published In Vol. 02, Issue 03 (2022)

Some Insights into the Immune System of Bats that Makes them Harbour Various Human Viruses

Author : Pooja Kumari, Shikha Bharti and Ashiq Hussain Mir

In last two years, whole world has been fighting with a ravaging pandemic, COVID-19. The virus responsible for this pandemic is SARS-CoV-2, which was detected in bats. Bats shelter a range of viruses viz. Nipah, Ebolaviruses, Hendra, SARS, Marburg, MERS, etc. and these viruses shed from bats and transfer to other vertebrates. After spread of SARS-CoV-2 during last two years, the interest to study the bat biology has intensified. There are a number of coronaviruses harboured by bats, but it was only after the discovery of SARS-associated coronavirus in bats that the bat immune system attracted the attention of researchers. This article reviews our contemporary knowledge of immune system of bats and their unique ability to harbour various disease-causing viruses.

Keywords: Pandemic, COVID-19, Nipah, Ebolaviruses, Hendra