Researchers at the University of Cambridge (Great Britain) looked at global warming, and more specifically at the displacement of bat populations to try to determine if there was a link with the appearance of the Covid -19 a year ago. And their response seems to be positive. They note indeed that by colonizing new regions of the world, bats were able to face interactions with animals that they had never seen before, which would have modified the risks of virus transmission from one species to another. other.
“Yunnan province, in southern China, and neighboring regions of Myanmar and Laos form a global hotspot for increasing bat wealth due to climate change.” Dr Robert Beyer, researcher in the zoology department of the University of Cambridge and principal author of the study published in Science of the total environment. “This region coincides with the probable spatial origin of the ancestors of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 transmitted by bats “.
A virus that travels with bats
To get their results, the researchers created a map of the world’s vegetation as it looked a century ago, using records of temperature, precipitation, and cloud cover. They also studied the vegetation needs of bat species to determine their global distribution in the early 20th century. Comparing to current maps allowed them to see how as climate change altered habitats, bat species left some areas and moved to others – taking their viruses with them. “This not only changed the regions where viruses are present, but most likely allowed new interactions between animals and viruses, resulting in the transmission or evolution of more dangerous viruses,” says Dr Beyer.
First evidence that #climatechange could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the # COVID19 pandemic: https://t.co/poyqDUeRbv@DrManica@CamZoology@uhmanoa#coronavirus
– Cambridge University (@Cambridge_Uni) February 5, 2021
Source:
Shifts in global bat diversity suggest a possible role of climate change in the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, January 26, 2021, Science of the total environment
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