Originally Posted by
Eclan
Chinese culture is paying for either an indulgence in eating raw bat and other things not meant to be consumed or a haphazard approach to their bio-warfare program safety. Take your pick.
More likely that bats (either wild or in captivity awaiting being cooked & eaten) have transmitted the virus to humans through faecal matter and poor human hygiene practices.
Bats are known to be very good virus reservoirs. There are many historic cases in Australia of bats spreading hantavirus (and other pathogens) through faecal matter into horse water troughs, which subsequently killed the horses. Obviously when viruses inevitably mutate some mutations can be far more deadly to humans.