Drinking Bat Blood May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Wacharapluesadee, Supaporn; Boongird, Kalyanee; Wanghongsa, Sawai; Phumesin, Patta; Hemachudha, Thiravat

doi:10.1086/505311

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Bats are highly valued as an ingredient of curries, and fresh blood is considered a powerful energy drink. The latter practice might not only result in depletion of local colonies of Lyle's flying fox but also have serious implications for human health as consumption of fresh blood is very likely to facilitate transmission of the Nipah virus (Wacharapluesadee et al ) and other human pathogens (see also Epstein et al ). Elimination of hunting would thus reduce the risk of disease transmission and at the same time aid to safeguard the ecological benefits provided by the bats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution GPS tracking of Lyle's flying fox between temples and orchards in central Thailand

Weber

Duengkae²,

Fahr

et al. 2015

Jour. Wild. Mgmt.

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Hunting and loss of natural habitats increasingly threaten tropical biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia. Flying foxes often persist in anthropogenic areas where other wildlife has vanished, and where they play a significant ecological role in vegetation regeneration in disturbed habitats. Detailed knowledge on the foraging behavior of flying foxes is crucial for understanding how they survive in degraded habitats and for the management of human-wildlife conflicts. Thailand still harbors large colonies (several thousand individuals) of Lyle's flying fox (Pteropus lylei), a species ranked as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, at temples situated in agricultural landscapes. We used high-resolution global positioning system (GPS) loggers to study the movement and foraging behavior of this species at 2 temples in central Thailand during 2 seasons. We analyzed GPS and acceleration data of 19 tagged individuals, and assessed habitat use and diet. Foraging individuals commuted between day roosts and foraging areas each night, followed by small-scale movements in foraging areas, and showed high site fidelity during the study period. Maximum linear distances between day roosts and foraging areas varied greatly between individuals (2.2-23.6 km) but were similar between seasons. Tracked bats mostly foraged in farmland, plantations, and gardens, yet our data indicate that small mangrove remnants constitute important habitat components for Lyle's flying fox. We recorded a highly diverse diet of 34 food plant species, comprised of exotic crops and native plants as available. Our results suggest that conservation and landscape managers should preserve remaining native trees and natural vegetation in the study area as resources for Lyle's flying fox, at the same time reducing potential for conflicts between bats and humans on crops. They can further be used for public information campaigns integrating the potential of Lyle's flying fox as dispersers of useful plants and the human health risks through zoonotic diseases associated with hunting and consumption of this species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution GPS tracking of Lyle's flying fox between temples and orchards in central Thailand

Weber

Duengkae²,

Fahr

et al. 2015

Jour. Wild. Mgmt.

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“…In this study, we targeted saliva and urine samples from Pteropus vampyrus in northern Sumatera based on the findings of Johara et al, 2001 [1] and Chua et al, 2002 [18], and adapting the methods of Wacharapluesadee et al, 2005, 2006 [11], [20]. Four samples yielded Nipah virus genome - an oro-pharangeal swab and a bladder sample from DS 21 (an adult female), and two pooled urine samples containing urine from DS 21.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anti-Nipah virus antibodies have now been identified in Pteropus or other bat species in Cambodia [10], Thailand [11], Indonesia [12], India [13], China [14], Vietnam [15], Bangladesh [6], Madagasgar [16] and Ghana [17]; viral genome has been detected in bats in Malaysia ( P. hypomenalus, P. vampyrus ) [4], [18], Cambodia ( P. lylei ) [19], Thailand ( P. lylei , P. hypomelanus , P. vampyrus ) [11], [20], [21], India ( P. giganteus ) [22] and Ghana ( Eidolon helvum ) [23]. In this paper we report the detection of Nipah virus genome in P. vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia using real time PCR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nipah Virus in the Fruit Bat Pteropus vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia

et al. 2013

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Nipah virus causes periodic livestock and human disease with high case fatality rate, and consequent major economic, social and psychological impacts. Fruit bats of the genus Pteropus are the natural reservoir. In this study, we used real time PCR to screen the saliva and urine of P. vampyrus from North Sumatera for Nipah virus genome. A conventional reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR) assay was used on provisionally positive samples to corroborate findings. This is the first report of Nipah virus detection in P. vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia.

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“…This includes conducting large-scale surveillance to determine the prevalence, both in bats and humans of these viruses (as in Bangladesh, for example, during the recent NiV outbreaks 62,68,69 ), establishing diagnostic systems in public health laboratories that include the diagnosis of these viruses, and reviewing the traditional/medicinal practice of drinking fresh bat blood or eating improperly cooked bat products among certain rural communities. 125 HIV is among the most genetically diverse human pathogens. In addition, co-circulation of two or more HIV-1 subtypes in any population can lead to co-infection in individuals and consequently generate recombinant strains, 106,107,126 as occurred with clade CRF33_01B in Malaysia, a fact that further increases the genetic plasticity of HIV-1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging and re-emerging viruses in Malaysia, 1997–2007

Tee

Takebe

Kamarulzaman

2009

International Journal of Infectious Diseases

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Over the past decade, a number of unique zoonotic and non-zoonotic viruses have emerged in Malaysia. Several of these viruses have resulted in significant morbidity and mortality to those affected and they have imposed a tremendous public health and economic burden on the state. Amongst the most devastating was the outbreak of Nipah virus encephalitis in 1998, which resulted in 109 deaths. The culling of more than a million pigs, identified as the amplifying host, ultimately brought the outbreak under control. A year prior to this, and subsequently again in 2000 and 2003, large outbreaks of hand-foot-and-mouth disease due to enterovirus 71, with rare cases of fatal neurological complications, were reported in young children. Three other new viruses - Tioman virus (1999), Pulau virus (1999), and Melaka virus (2006) - whose origins have all been linked to bats, have been added to the growing list of novel viruses being discovered in Malaysia. The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has also been detected in Malaysia with outbreaks in poultry in 2004, 2006, and 2007. Fortunately, no human infections were reported. Finally, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has seen the emergence of an HIV-1 recombinant form (CRF33_01B) in HIV-infected individuals from various risk groups, with evidence of ongoing and rapid expansion.

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Drinking Bat Blood May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Cited by 8 publications

References 8 publications

High-resolution GPS tracking of Lyle's flying fox between temples and orchards in central Thailand

High-resolution GPS tracking of Lyle's flying fox between temples and orchards in central Thailand

Nipah Virus in the Fruit Bat Pteropus vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia

Emerging and re-emerging viruses in Malaysia, 1997–2007

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