Coronaviruses in Bats

Abstract

This article summarizes current detections of coronaviruses in bats in different geographic regions worldwide, and underlines the potential role of bats as ancestor and reservoir hosts of different coronaviruses. Bats can be found in almost all global habitats with the notable exception of the high arctic and a few isolated oceanic islands. First, we give an overview on the potential role of bats as carriers of zoonotic viruses, underlining the relevance of specific physiological traits of representatives of this mammalian order, that are supporting the transmission of these disease agents. Research in this field was predominantly initiated by the SARS coronavirus event in 2003, and in the meantime, bats are assumed to be the ancestor hosts for numerous alpha and beta coronaviruses. Bat associated coronaviruses have been detected on all continents where bats are distributed. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus research has again been considerably intensified, leading to a gain of knowledge regarding the interaction between bats and coronaviruses that will be valuable in the management of potential future outbreaks originating from bats. Finally, an outlook is given on research gaps that could be invaluable when dealing with future pandemic events.