African Fruit Bats Could Spread Viruses Across Continent

Straw-colored fruit bats, found across much of Africa, carry two deadly viruses that could spread to people. While scientists knew the bats were carriers, a new study outlines the extent of the infection - a third of the bats are infected with a virus similar to the one which causes rabies, and 42 percent carry henipaviruses, which can cause a fatal disease. Researchers with the University of Cambridge and the Zoological Society of London looked at blood and tissue samples from more than...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mardi 19 novembre 2013