"Humanity is ramping up the risk of global health disasters by intruding deep into the world’s bat habitats, breeding grounds for deadly viruses. In this five-part series, Reuters pinpoints the places where the next outbreaks are likeliest."
"Left alone to roost in dark caves and dense trees, the world’s bats pose little danger to humanity.
When they take flight at night to feed on bugs or fruit, they serve an important function.
Pillars of the global ecosystem, they pollinate trees and keep insects in check.
But they also harbor viruses. And that could spell doom for humanity.
The viruses don’t harm the bats. They harm the people who encroach on their habitats.
A Reuters data analysis, the first of its kind, reveals how human incursions into the world’s bat lands are laying tracks for the next global health pandemic."
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