Do bats carry diseases?

Bats have a pretty bad reputation, which is not surprising considering the number of pathogens they carry that can infect humans. Rabies, Nipah, Hendra, Ebola and Marburg are all viruses carried by bats that can cause serious disease in humans. Marburg virus and some strains of Ebola virus can kill up to 80-90% of humans infected. read more

Rabies is perhaps the most well known disease associated with bats. Along with animals such as dogs, foxes, raccoons and skunks, bats are one of the primary animals that transmit rabies. Histoplasmosis is another disease associated with bats. read more

Essentially, bats share their viruses more than rodents do, a fact that's especially evident when one examines the number of host species each virus has. Each bat virus, on average, infects 4.51 bat species, while each rodent virus infects only 2.76 rodent species. read more