PBS The search for the origin of COVID-19 has highlighted the risks of viruses transmitted by certain species of bats. In the wild, they can incubate and spread diseases to other animals and humans. Dr. Neil Vora, a physician with Conservation International, joins Ali Rogin to discuss the global health concerns posed by an increasing number of interactions between humans and bats.
Global industrialization continues to reduce the amount of the world untouched by humans. That means species like bats are no longer as insulated from human interaction as they once were. In recent decades, bats have been traced as the source of outbreaks of rabies, Marburg virus, NEPA virus, and Ebola.
To discuss why this is happening, I’m joined by Neil Vora. He’s a physician with Conservation International, a nonprofit environmentalist group, and he works on pandemic prevention.
Neil, thank you so much for joining us. Tell me about what you and your colleagues have found out about human and bat interaction in recent years, in recent decades.