By catching bats, these ‘virus hunters’ hope to stop the next pandemic | The larger image

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Researchers wearing headlamps and protective suits rush to unravel the claws and wings of bats caught in a large net after dark in the Philippine province of Laguna.

Small animals are carefully placed in cloth bags to be taken away, measured and cleaned, with details recorded and saliva and feces collected for analysis before being returned to the wild.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“As we continue to develop close contact with wildlife, we are deliberately exposing ourselves to disease and danger. If we can’t stop this, we might as well develop control measures to at least reduce the effects of possible future outbreaks. This is why this research is important. By having basic data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can somehow predict possible epidemics and establish appropriate, sound and science-based health protocols, ”he said. said bat ecologist Kirk Taray. .

Beyond laboratory work, research requires long field trips, involving treks for hours in thick rainforest and precarious night hikes over mountains covered with rocks, tree roots, mud and foam.

The group is also targeting bat roosts in buildings, setting up fog nets before dusk to catch bats and extract samples by torchlight.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

Alviola holds a bat captured on Mount Makiling.

Each bat is held firmly by the head as researchers insert tiny swabs into their mouths and record the wingspan with plastic rulers, to try and see which of the more than 1,300 species and 20 families of bat mice are the most susceptible to infections and why.

Researchers wear protective suits, masks and gloves when in contact with bats, as a precaution against virus capture.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“I can teach students and still be a student myself. It’s funny. To be in the field, even for 24 hours, is to be in the office eight to five, ”said Cosico.

“It’s really scary these days,” said Edison Cosico, who assists Alviola. “You never know if the bat is already a carrier.

“What we are looking for is to find out if there are other bat viruses that can be transmitted to humans. We will never know if the next one is like COVID.”

The majority of those captured are horseshoe bats known to harbor coronaviruses, including the closest known relative of the new coronavirus.

. Laguna, Philippines. Reuters / Eloisa Lopez

“With the ongoing pandemic, caution is in order when studying bats. Several measures and protocols are in place to protect both researchers and bats. In addition, community quarantine and travel restrictions have added difficulties, especially in accessing potential study areas, ”Taray says.

Exposure of humans and closer interaction with wildlife meant the risk of disease transmission was now higher than ever, bat ecologist Kirk Taray said.

“By having basic data on the nature and occurrence of the potentially zoonotic virus in bats, we can kind of predict possible outbreaks.”

MARIKA KOCHIASHVILI PHOTO EDITION; WRITTEN MARTIN PETTY, KARISHMA SINGH EDITION; JULIA DALRYMPLE LAYOUT

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