Truth be told, if in today’s times, you get to hear of the mere name of the animal bat, then perhaps you’d breathe heavy or may certainly breath a sigh of discomfort. After all, according to most rational and well-established facts and information outlets, this is the very animal because of which the world went into a pandemic overdrive and got itself unfortunately acquainted with the Coronavirus- isn’t that right? But what are you to do if you encounter a piece of news that’s rather negative and doesn’t posit anything promising in the context of bats? Moreover, if this is a news that for change doesn’t happen to dwell on China and concerns bats in Switzerland?
So here’s the thing and it doesn’t sound all that great either. Apparently, the bats in Switzerland have been found to be harbouring viruses that can actually jump into humans.
And the moment this piece of news emanated from Europe, published, among the many outlets, first on The Weekend Leader- it sent shockwaves everywhere around. And why not!
But this isn’t a random troubling development; the main point here being that the viruses the bats in Switzerland are harbouring are as many as 39 or belong to 39 different viral families.
Can you imagine or put into picture the situation if yet another terrible outbreak is to occur should a human get into contact with the often enigmatic but strangely murky creature?
That would be a catastrophe and one, which anyone would reckon, would be of a huge magnitude. There’s less sense to add, however, that it would also be one of the last things this world really needs, having operated in an almost non-operational mode since the beginning of 2020.
No?
But according to information furnished on The Weekend Leader- here’s why the news surrounding bats in Switzerland is rather concerning:
Monitoring the viruses harboured by bats around the world could improve understanding and detection of those that pose risk to humans, and better prepare the world for another such pandemic.
While previous research has investigated viruses carried by bats in several different countries, none have focused on Switzerland.
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Researchers from the University of Zurich investigated viruses carried by more than 7,000 bats living in Switzerland. These bats belonged to 18 species of stationary and migratory bats. Specifically, they analysed DNA and RNA sequences of viruses found in organ, fecal, or stool samples collected from the bats.
The above told, the findings don’t look good, not good at all. May we all succeed in evading what could possibly be another gaffe should anything untoward transpire. None of us, absolutely none of us deserve something like the COVID 19 pandemic, ever again or anything of that proportion. What do you reckon?