Bats’ super immunity to help protect people from Ebola

Bats keep their immune systems switched on 24/7 and can carry lethal viruses without being affected themselves, according to a new study that may hold the key to protecting people from deadly diseases like Ebola.

Bats are a natural host for more than 100 viruses, some of which are lethal to people, including Mers, Ebola and Hendra virus. However, bats do not get sick or show signs of disease from these viruses, researchers said.

The research examined the genes and immune system of the Australian bl-ack flying fox. “We focused on the innate immunity of bats, in particular the role of interferons, which are integral for innate immu-ne responses in mammals, to understand what’s special about how bats resp-ond to invading viruses,” said Michelle Baker from Australian animal health laboratory.

The research showed that bats express a heightened innate immune response even when they were not infected with any detect-able virus. “If we can redirect other species’ immune responses to behave in a similar manner to that of bats, then the high death rate associated with diseases, such as Ebola, could be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, a 39-year-old Scottish nurse was on Tue-sday admitted to a hospital in the UK for the third time since she contracted the deadly Ebola virus in Sierra Leone in 2014.

Pauline Cafferkey has been admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for what the National Health Service has termed “routine monitoring” by its infectious diseases unit.