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Blaming The Bats

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the kree-kree-off-into-the-night-searching-for-bananas dept.

d'alz writes "Bats have long been the subject of various conflicting theories. They have been linked with lethal viruses that cause Ebola hemorrhagic fever, SARS, Nipah or Hendra. But of late researchers have taken a complete shift in these theories. They now claim that bats are being blamed for human mistakes. It now seems that these outbreaks could be a direct result of the encroachments that took place over the years in the rainforests." From the article: "Emerging viruses like the one that causes SARS are symptoms of the drastic, large-scale changes humans are making in the life of the planet. At a time of intense concern about avian flu, it is hardly controversial to argue that human health is linked to animal health. But the field challenges traditional academic divisions, especially the cultural divide between doctors and veterinarians."

2 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Great... by ugmoe · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Now I understand:

    If humans kill animals, it is the humans' fault. If animals kill humans, it is the humans' fault.

    Yep - that pretty much sums it up.

  2. Bats. Seriously? by Sontas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Bats? Bats have been considered a source of Ebola, SARS, and other virulent contaigens? But now some scientist types have awaken from their delusional state and remembered their theory from a decade ago that all these diseases are showing up because of man's encroashment on previously untouched parts of the environment... and we're supposed to buy it? After "bats" was put on the table as a serious contender they expect us to accept the takeback and revert to their time tested "human existence is its own worst enemy" fallback position?

    Bats?

    What the hell? When did this theory start getting serious recognition anyway? I feel like I did 5 or 6 years ago when seemingly out of no where everyone was talking about the theory of the extinction of dinosaurs being caused by an asteroid impact as being more or less fact. When I was in middle school and high school there were a number of theories discussed and no one was given considerably more or less weight than the others. There was the asteroid theory, of course. There was also a climate change theory, a disease theory, a species encroachment theory and probably a couple others I'm not remembering. Then seemingly a few years later I'm reading a web site or a news report or watching TV or something and the death of dinosaurs is attributed to that asteroid, as if it were written on stone and handed down from on high.

    I know now that there was the discovery and research of the yuccatan crater, but still it was very disconcerting that something so fundamental in the "modern" history of the planet had gone from multi-theory to essentially a single theory and I hadn't heard anything about it until some time after the fact. Must have missed that all important week the world was abuzz with the massive shift in dinosaur extinction thought.

    So anyway...

    Bats.

    Really? That's just seems loopy. Of course, encroachment on African, Asian, or Central/South American jungles isn't that good of an explanation for SARS or Bird Flu either, but at least it aint bats. Seriously, bats? Who comes up with this stuff?