Due to climate change, vampire bats may soon come to the United States – and carry rabies with them.
A study published in the Ecography journal predicts that vampire bats – currently found in Mexico and Central and South America – are on the move.
Vampire bats, research shows, have expanded their locations in search of more stable, temperate climates.
“What we found was that the distribution of vampire bats has moved northward across time due to past climate change, which has corresponded with an increase in rabies cases in many Latin American countries,” said Paige Van de Vuurst, a Ph.D. student in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program.
The research team, which included both undergraduate and graduate students, also found this expanded reach could be linked to a spillover of rabies. Latin America is currently feeling the bite of the rabies spread through the loss of livestock, which has generated fear as the bats’ migration patterns expand.
The Virginia Tech team aims to vigorously identify and track the bats by traveling to Colombia to help contain the spread to other countries, including the United States and its vital cattle industry.
“Colombia is a mega-diverse country, making it a perfect natural laboratory,” said Luis Escobar, assistant professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.
The country boasts having the highest number of hummingbirds and bats, attributed to its tropic climate and proximity to the equator.
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Crystal Graham
