Bats and viruses

The isolation of Hendra and Nipah viruses from bats in the vicinity of the outbreaks, and the subsequent detection of coronaviruses similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus from various bat species, led to speculation that bats may be reservoirs for potentially zoonotic viruses. These events stimulated a global search for bat viruses that resulted in the detection and sometimes isolation of over 200 viruses from almost all viral families. These observations suggested that bats may harbour a substantial diversity of viruses rivalling or surpassing that in rodents. The book Bats and Viruses, Current Research and Future Trends, edited by Eugenia Corrales-Aguilar and Martin Schwemmle, aims to compile current (as of 2018 and some cases, late 2019) information on bat viruses, bat immunological responses to viral infection, the search for new bat viruses by metagenomics technologies and isolation techniques, and the establishment bat colonies to explore bat–virus interactions. Despite providing a vast compilation of useful information about this important topic, the book suffers from attempting to assemble “current” information in print form on a very rapidly evolving area of investigation. A search (bat virus) of PubMed revealed almost 300 articles published in the first 6 months of 2020, mostly focusing on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and COVID-19.