Bat Research Networks and Viral Surveillance: Gaps and Opportunities in Western Asia

Abstract

Bat research networks and viral surveillance are assumed to be at odds due to seemingly conflicting research priorities. Yet human threats that contribute to declines in bat populations globally also lead to increased transmission and spread of bat-associated viruses, which may pose a threat to global health and food security. In this review, we discuss the importance of and opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborations between bat research networks and infectious disease experts to tackle shared threats that jeopardize bat conservation as well as human and animal health. Moreover, we assess research effort on bats and bat-associated viruses globally, and demonstrate that Western Asia has limited published research and represents a gap for coordinated bat research. The lack of bat research in Western Asia severely limits our capacity to identify and mitigate region-specific threats to bat populations and detect interactions between bats and incidental hosts that promote virus spillover. We detail a regional initiative to establish the first bat research network in Western Asia (i.e., the Western Asia Bat Research Network, WAB-Net), with the aim of integrating ecological research on bats with virus surveillance to find “win-win” solutions that promote bat conservation and safeguard public and animal health across the region.

Bat-borne virus diversity, spillover and emergence

“…Recently, we described a platform to test coronaviruses in bulk scale for their receptor usage 140 . Beyond functional studies, disease ecology and modelling are essential to determine the true risk of cross-species transmission, as are better collaborations between bat biologists and disease experts 177 . Recent advances in the miniaturization of device technology have produced smaller gPs trackers and more efficient, higher resolution camera traps that will certainly help improve our understanding of host species distribution and key interactions at the bat-human-environment interface.…”

Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats

“…Conservation-compatible surveillance of bat viruses has demonstrated the potential for mutually beneficial collaboration between public health scientists and conservation stakeholders [ 94 , 113 , 125 , 128 , 129 ]. Disease-focused studies that integrate ecological principles into a rigorous study design provide the most informative context to interpret bat–virus associations and patterns of richness globally [ 130 – 132 ].…”

“…Disease-focused studies that integrate ecological principles into a rigorous study design provide the most informative context to interpret bat–virus associations and patterns of richness globally [ 130 – 132 ]. Assessing the risks of SARS-CoV-2 spillover into North American bats presents a timely opportunity to form multidisciplinary scientific teams that include experts on emerging infectious diseases and ecologists with expertise on North American bats [ 128 ]. Scientists researching emerging infectious diseases can benefit from sampling opportunities and methods that bat researchers have developed for observing, counting, and noninvasively sampling bats [ 73 , 133 ].…”

Bat-Borne Coronaviruses in Jordan and Saudi Arabia: A Threat to Public Health?

“…A dearth of information exists in the context of viral surveillance of bats in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region [ 58 ]. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution of bat species that have been reported in Jordan and Saudi Arabia based on the published literature, while Table 1 lists the species of bats found in Jordan and Saudi Arabia along with their associated viral pathogens worldwide.…”