Morcegos potencial reservatório de vírus: fatores impulsionadores da emergência de doenças

Abstract

Bats are classified in the order Chiroptera, abundant mammal species and widely distributed in the world. They are essential in tropical communities for their ecological services in the wild. However, bats are sources of great viral diversity, although apparently not pathogenic in their reservoir hosts, some bat viruses severely affect other mammals, including humans. The increasing frequency of zoonotic events (SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg, Nipah and Hedra) underscores the need to develop predictive studies for a preventive outbreak approach and the provision of zoonotic disease reservoirs is an urgent public health priority. In this regard, we analyzed a database of bat-virus associations to determine which species of super-host chiropractors are most likely to harbor new viruses. We have listed thirty species of superhuman bats, and suggest that they be research priorities for zoonotic diseases. A total of 8901 records of bat infection with viruses were investigated, totaling 311 bat species and 422 virus species. We sought to find some relationship, we evaluated the characteristics of body size, weight, diet and longevity and number of viruses recorded in chiropractors, however we did not find significant correlation between these variables. Knowledge of viruses, hosts, and interspecific pathogen transfer mechanisms, particularly for humans, remains poorly understood. Given that new zoonotic viruses may emerge from bat reservoirs and known ones may spread over a larger geographic range, we suggest that further studies be developed to maximize knowledge and minimize the risk of future outbreaks of zoonoses.