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Ebola’s ground zero: This bat-filled tree may be where the outbreak started

JANFU

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Ebola’s ground zero: This bat-filled tree may be where the outbreak started | National Post

The toddler in Guinea who is thought to have been the first case in the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa may have caught the virus from bats in a hollow tree near his village, scientists said Tuesday.

A study, led by scientists from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and published online by the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, could not prove the link because the tree in Meliandou, a village of 31 houses in the Guéckédou district, burned in late March and the bats inside were immolated or flew off.

The fire took place shortly after Guineans were warned that the virus might come from bats. By then, at least 10 local people were dead.

However, the scientists found enough residual DNA in the charred trunk and fecal DNA in nearby soil to identify the animals as Mops condylurus, long-tailed insect-eating bats that were previously suspected in an outbreak of the Sudan strain of Ebola virus, which is related to the Zaire strain that has infected more than 20,000 West Africans.

The study is important because scientists have wondered how a boy named Emile Ouamouno, who died in December 2013 and whom various reports describe as 1 or 2 years old, could have been the index patient.

Most human outbreaks have started in adults: hunters or charcoal-burners finding sick apes or forest antelopes and butchering them for food, for example, or miners working in bat-filled caves. In one case, an outbreak is thought to have come from bats roosting in a cotton mill.

But there was no large number of deaths among chimpanzees or other animals in the Meliandou area, the scientists said.
Large fruit bats have been suspected because they are hunted for meat in Guinea, where a peppery bat soup was popular before the outbreak.

Some scientists think that humans can contract Ebola by picking up fruit that fruit bats have contaminated with saliva or feces.
 
Interesting.
Thanks for sharing the link.
 
that's pretty cool ... (I mean, the way we can trace stuff down nowadays.)

bats are pretty much the only animals that i'm conflicted over.... they bring about a plethora of bad ****, but they also prevent a plethora of bad ****.
the lil bastards can carry ebola, rabies, histoplasmosis, and several hemorrhagic fevers to humans... but they eat tons and tons of skeeter' who bring malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever,and west nile etc.

it's hard to like em'... or hate em'
 
Ebola’s ground zero: This bat-filled tree may be where the outbreak started | National Post

The toddler in Guinea who is thought to have been the first case in the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa may have caught the virus from bats in a hollow tree near his village, scientists said Tuesday.

A study, led by scientists from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and published online by the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, could not prove the link because the tree in Meliandou, a village of 31 houses in the Guéckédou district, burned in late March and the bats inside were immolated or flew off.

The fire took place shortly after Guineans were warned that the virus might come from bats. By then, at least 10 local people were dead.

However, the scientists found enough residual DNA in the charred trunk and fecal DNA in nearby soil to identify the animals as Mops condylurus, long-tailed insect-eating bats that were previously suspected in an outbreak of the Sudan strain of Ebola virus, which is related to the Zaire strain that has infected more than 20,000 West Africans.

The study is important because scientists have wondered how a boy named Emile Ouamouno, who died in December 2013 and whom various reports describe as 1 or 2 years old, could have been the index patient.

Most human outbreaks have started in adults: hunters or charcoal-burners finding sick apes or forest antelopes and butchering them for food, for example, or miners working in bat-filled caves. In one case, an outbreak is thought to have come from bats roosting in a cotton mill.

But there was no large number of deaths among chimpanzees or other animals in the Meliandou area, the scientists said.
Large fruit bats have been suspected because they are hunted for meat in Guinea, where a peppery bat soup was popular before the outbreak.

Some scientists think that humans can contract Ebola by picking up fruit that fruit bats have contaminated with saliva or feces.

A bat filled tree. Reminds me of the White House.
 
that's pretty cool ... (I mean, the way we can trace stuff down nowadays.)

bats are pretty much the only animals that i'm conflicted over.... they bring about a plethora of bad ****, but they also prevent a plethora of bad ****.
the lil bastards can carry ebola, rabies, histoplasmosis, and several hemorrhagic fevers to humans... but they eat tons and tons of skeeter' who bring malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever,and west nile etc.

it's hard to like em'... or hate em'

I agree. Bats can help mankind by eating insects that spread diseases but they can also carry diseases.

Back in 2000 my husband helped his nephew remodel an old hose that had bats in the walls.

My husband contracted histoplasmosis ( a fungus infection ) in his lungs which also spread to his kidneys ( since kidneys filter the bodies fluids ). He was very ill for awhile. Doctors think he contracted the histoplasmosis from those bats.

ETA

Histoplasmosis is spread from bat droppings.

Anyone going in caves where bats dwell or remodeling old houses where bats are in the walls / attics or may have been should wear a mask to prevent inhaling the spores from bat droppings.
 
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I agree. Bats can help mankind by eating insects that spread diseases but they can also carry diseases.

Back in 2000 my husband helped his nephew remodel an old hose that had bats in the walls.

My husband contracted histoplasmosis ( a fungus infection ) in his lungs which also spread to his kidneys ( since kidneys filter the bodies fluids ). He was very ill for awhile. Doctors think he contracted the histoplasmosis from those bats.

ETA

Histoplasmosis is spread from bat droppings.

Anyone going in caves where bats dwell or remodeling old houses where bats are in the walls / attics or may have been should wear a mask to prevent inhaling the spores from bat droppings.

whoa... sorry to here about hubby getting so sick.
 
Mammalians are constantly giving troubles to each other...
I remember checking Koch Institute's website for an internship but I didn't know about their ebola research.
 
that's pretty cool ... (I mean, the way we can trace stuff down nowadays.)

bats are pretty much the only animals that i'm conflicted over.... they bring about a plethora of bad ****, but they also prevent a plethora of bad ****.
the lil bastards can carry ebola, rabies, histoplasmosis, and several hemorrhagic fevers to humans... but they eat tons and tons of skeeter' who bring malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever,and west nile etc.

it's hard to like em'... or hate em'

If you want to lay men's ills on a critter, as you say, lay it on mosquitoes. The death toll from their bite is much much higher. Fleas similarly.

But bats provide many great services in nature...as noted, most prominently the eating of mosquitoes. But other species like the fruit eaters are great pollinators.

All mammals can carry rabies and some of the other things you listed...but one reason that bats are blamed so often is because many live in colonies in huge numbers so the incident rates are higher. But I dont believe they are predisposed to carry diseases more than other mammals except for their living conditions.

Bats actually do a great service in nature.
 
I agree. Bats can help mankind by eating insects that spread diseases but they can also carry diseases.

Back in 2000 my husband helped his nephew remodel an old hose that had bats in the walls.

My husband contracted histoplasmosis ( a fungus infection ) in his lungs which also spread to his kidneys ( since kidneys filter the bodies fluids ). He was very ill for awhile. Doctors think he contracted the histoplasmosis from those bats.

ETA

Histoplasmosis is spread from bat droppings.

Anyone going in caves where bats dwell or remodeling old houses where bats are in the walls / attics or may have been should wear a mask to prevent inhaling the spores from bat droppings.

Really? The fungus probably grew on their moist droppings but it would have come from the house...mold or mildew probably. I doubt bats 'carry' histoplasmosis. Weird, but maybe.
 
Really? The fungus probably grew on their moist droppings but it would have come from the house...mold or mildew probably. I doubt bats 'carry' histoplasmosis. Weird, but maybe.

My husband the high fever, chills, cough that lingered. He thought he might have pneumonia so he went to doctor. The X-Ray showed spots all over his lungs and the X-ray tech and his GP thought it was cancer that had spread from another area of his body.

They did a biopsy of his lung and found out it was histoplasmosis.
They took a cat scan and found out the fungus had also spread to his kidneys. He was on anti fungal meds for a year and had to have a yearly a cat scan for the next three years.

His was an aggressive case.

From the Illinois Department of Health

Histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is caused by a fungus (Histoplasma capsulatum) found primarily in the areas drained by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Both humans and animals can be affected. The disease is transmitted to humans by airborne fungus spores from soil contaminated by pigeon and starling droppings (as well as from the droppings of other birds and bats). The soil under a roost usually has to have been enriched by droppings for two years or more for the disease organism to reach significant levels. Although almost always associated with soil, the fungus has been found in droppings (particularly from bats) alone, such as in an attic.

Infection occurs when spores, carried by the air are inhaled — especially after a roost has been disturbed. Most infections are mild and produce either no symptoms or a minor influenza- like illness. On occasion, the disease can cause high fever, blood abnormalities, pneumonia and even death. In some areas, including portions of Illinois, up to 80 percent of the population show evidence of previous infection. Outbreaks of histoplasmosis have occurred in Central Illinois.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reported a potentially blinding eye condition — presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (OHS) — that probably results from the fungus. NIH estimates that 4 percent of those exposed to the disease are at risk of developing OHS.

HEALTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH BIRD AND BAT DROPPINGS
 
My husband the high fever, chills, cough that lingered. He thought he might have pneumonia so he went to doctor. The X-Ray showed spots all over his lungs and the X-ray tech and his GP thought it was cancer that had spread from another area of his body.

They did a biopsy of his lung and found out it was histoplasmosis.
They took a cat scan and found out the fungus had also spread to his kidneys. He was on anti fungal meds for a year and had to have a yearly a cat scan for the next three years.

His was an aggressive case.

From the Illinois Department of Health



HEALTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH BIRD AND BAT DROPPINGS

Yes but I wonder how their droppings got contaminated? Bat dont 'carry' the fungus that causes histoplasmosis. That's why I wondered about the condition behind the walls.

And I'm very sorry to hear your husband had to go through that.
 
Yes but I wonder how their droppings got contaminated? Bat dont 'carry' the fungus that causes histoplasmosis. That's why I wondered about the condition behind the walls.

And I'm very sorry to hear your husband had to go through that.

Thank you for your kind thoughts also.
However ,
fresh bat droppings can contain the histoplasmosis fungus.

From the same Illinois website.

The incidence of histoplasmosis being transmitted from bat droppings to humans is not thought to be high. Nevertheless, fresh bat droppings (unlike fresh bird dropping) can contain the histoplasmosis fungus. Bat droppings do not need to come into contact with soil to be a source of the disease.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbb&bdrp.htm
 
I wonder if they get it by preening their fur and birds by preening their feathers? Otherwise I dont know how or why they would be ingesting a fungus.

I have not found the source yet.

But this was on the CDC link


Histoplasmosis is another disease associated with bats. Its symptoms vary greatly, but the disease primarily affects the lungs. Occasionally, other organs are affected. When this happens it can be fatal if untreated.


In addition, Histoplasmosis is caused by a fungus that grows in soil and material contaminated with droppings from animals, including bats. Droppings, also known as bat guano, can contaminate the soil and cause infectious spores to be released when the soil is disturbed.

Even though it can be found throughout the world, it is widespread in certain areas of the U.S. and can be found in places that harbor large populations of bats, including caves.

While most infected persons have no apparent ill effects, antifungal medications are used to treat many forms of the disease.

Bats and Diseases around the World

Even though rabies and histoplasmosis can be found all over the world, some diseases associated with bats are found exclusively in certain regions of the world. Notably, research suggests that bats might be the source of several hemorrhagic fevers, which affect multiple organ systems in the body and often lead to life-threatening diseases.

One of these diseases is Marburg hemorrhagic fever, which is found exclusively in Africa. Past outbreaks have shown that Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever kills up to 90% of those infected.

While the natural host had for years been unknown, new research suggests that fruit bats are a natural source of this virus, and the virus has been isolated repetitively from fruit bats in Uganda.

The same may be true for Ebola hemorraghic fever.
The virus that causes this disease is often referred to as the "cousin" of Marburg virus, since they are the only distinct viruses that belong to a group of viruses known as filoviruses. Like Marburg, Ebola is highly fatal and is found mostly in Africa. Recent studies indicate that, as with Marburg, bats are likely to be a natural source of this virus, although no Ebola virus has been isolated from bats.

Two other viruses - Nipah (which causes Nipah virus encephalitis) and Hendra (which causes Hendra virus disease) - are also associated with bats. Research suggests that Hendra virus is associated with fruit bats (commonly called flying foxes) in Australia. Nipah and related viruses are also associated with the same group of bats in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, although outbreaks of disease in humans have so far been limited to Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh. Both viruses can cause severe respiratory and neurologic disease in humans.

Another group of viruses known as coronaviruses have been detected in multiple species of bats. Coronavirus infection can sometimes cause mild respiratory illness in humans, but these viruses were also implicated in the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Southeast Asia. While bats do not carry or transmit SARS, research has linked coronaviruses to bats in countries all over the world.

In addition, Lyssaviruses have been discovered on every inhabited continent. This group of viruses causes rabies, in addition to other diseases that can be fatal to humans. While current rabies vaccines are effective against many of the viruses in this group, several Lyssaviruses identified in Africa and Asia primarily associated with bats cannot be prevented with current rabies vaccines.

Further studies may shed light on the role of bats as the source of these viruses and their ability to transmit diseases caused by these viruses to humans.

Take Caution When Bats Are Near | Features | CDC
 
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