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Urban Bats, Public Health, and Human-Wildlife Conflict

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Urban Bats

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

Abstract

Coexistence of humans and bats in cities requires mitigation of two key sources of human-bat conflict: risk of zoonotic disease transmission and human concerns about cleanliness. Bats can transmit infectious diseases to humans, and mitigating this risk is an important challenge for both public health and bat conservation. Bat colonies in buildings (or adjacent to buildings) are often categorised as “nuisance wildlife” even when disease risk is low. These colonies can be noisy and create guano deposits that can be substantial and unsightly. Colonies of fruit bats may also feed on fruit grown for human consumption. In this chapter, we review perceived public health concerns around human-bat cohabitation and the factors that can increase or reduce the risk of disease transmission from urban bats to humans. We briefly review the importance of human dimensions in assessing the risk of zoonotic spillover and other bat-human conflict. We use two case studies (Boxes 11.1 and 11.2) to illustrate the implications of urban bats for human-wildlife conflict and public health: one on guano deposition by Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) and the other on the risk of rabies exposure for humans cohabiting with big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Finally, we briefly consider key priorities for studies of bat-borne disease transmission in cities.

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Acknowledgements

We thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor of this chapter for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Christina M. Davy

  2. Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Arinjay Banerjee

  3. Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Arinjay Banerjee

  4. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel

    Carmi Korine

  5. Toronto, ON, Canada

    Cylita Guy

  6. Sunnybrook Research Institute and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Samira Mubareka

Authors
  1. Christina M. Davy
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  2. Arinjay Banerjee
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  3. Carmi Korine
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  4. Cylita Guy
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  5. Samira Mubareka
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina M. Davy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Vaughan, ON, Canada

    Lauren Moretto

  2. Department of Biology, Queens College at the City University of New York, Flushing, NY, USA

    Joanna L. Coleman

  3. Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Christina M. Davy

  4. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    M. Brock Fenton

  5. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben- Gurion, Israel

    Carmi Korine

  6. Department of Biology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Krista J Patriquin

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Davy, C.M., Banerjee, A., Korine, C., Guy, C., Mubareka, S. (2022). Urban Bats, Public Health, and Human-Wildlife Conflict. In: Moretto, L., Coleman, J.L., Davy, C.M., Fenton, M.B., Korine, C., Patriquin, K.J. (eds) Urban Bats. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13173-8_11

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