Think Twice Before Blaming Bats
February 21, 2020
When a new coronavirus emerged in China, some media outlets reported that bats may have spread the pathogen to humans, but there are now calls for caution in placing blame. Indeed, a Texas-based researcher who has spent more than 50 years studying bats around the world earlier warned in Issues against focusing excessively on bats’ possible role in transferring viral diseases to humans—small, in his estimation—adding that society should be worrying more about what humans are doing to bats in the name of science and public health.