Understanding bats as a host of different viruses and Nepal's vulnerability on bat viruses

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/njz.v4i2.33899

Keywords:

Bat virus, Bushmeat, COVID-19, Nepal, Zoonotic

Abstract

Bats maintain and transmit many viruses (Filoviruses, Rubulaviruses, Henipaviruses, Lyssaviruses, and Coronaviruses etc.); most of them are pathogenic to human but bats act as reservoir host without causing any pathogenesis. Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a twenty-first-century awakening for the human world that signifies the zoonotic viral challenge. Bats fauna are suspected to originate viral outbreaks through solid evidence that is lacking worldwide. The bats like Pteropus giganteus, Rousettus leschenaultii, Eonycteris spealea, Rhinolophus sinicus, R. affinis, R. ferremequinum, Nyctalus noctula, and Scotophillus sp. are reported for viral evidence that are also extended to Nepal's geography. Bats bush-meat culture persist in Chepang community of Nepal indicates a high risk of a zoonotic viral outbreak in the future. Though Nepal has no evidence of any viral outbreak until the COVID-19 pandemic situation, precaution is warned for bat conservation and bat roost management to ensure bat virus safety.

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Author Biographies

Pushpa Raj Acharya, Faculty of Science and Technology, Mid-western University, Surkhet, Nepal

Central Campus of Science and Technology (CSST)

Kishor Pandey, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

Central Department of Zoology

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Published

2020-12-28

How to Cite

Acharya, P. R., & Pandey, K. (2020). Understanding bats as a host of different viruses and Nepal’s vulnerability on bat viruses. Nepalese Journal of Zoology, 4(2), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.3126/njz.v4i2.33899

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Section

Review Articles