Fruit bats are the largest bats , some with wingspans up to 2 meters long. Also known as flying foxes. Larger body size. Fruit bats are mainly distributed in the tropics and subtropics. There are not many types in China, and they are limited to the provinces of Southern China. It is now suspected to be the host of the Ebola virus. Fruit bats are mainly found on tropical islands from Madagascar to Australia and Indonesia and are the largest species of bats. This bat is widely distributed from Africa to Southeast Asia and Australia. Some species prefer to live alone, while others live in clusters. Most fruit bats inhabit open areas in the woods, but some also inhabit caves, rocks or buildings.
Bat infographic
The disease is a multi-organ damage disorder that mainly affects the liver, spleen and kidneys. The incubation period is not necessarily 3 to 18 days, and is mainly manifested by sudden onset, fever, severe headache, muscle and joint soreness, sometimes abdominal pain, persistent fever, and changes in consciousness, such as delirium and drowsiness. Bleeding in this period is common, including hematemesis, melaena, bleeding at the injection site, nosebleeds, hemoptysis, etc. Severe patients often die in just seven or eight days due to bleeding, liver, kidney failure or serious complications.
In many parts of Africa, fruit bats are a common food due to food deficiencies, they are often smoked or eaten in soup, and people have contracted Ebola in the process of catching and handling this wild animal. Mabalo Lokela, principal of a school in Yambuku town, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the first known case of an Ebola outbreak in Zaire in 1976. He received medical attention from a high fever on September 1 to his death on September 8, a short period of one week. Loqueira's family and friends buried his body according to local customs. After a short time, some people fell ill one after another, and 18 of the 21 people died. It is alleged that after Lokella's first visit to the Yambuku Ecclesiastical Hospital, a number of similar cases have emerged in the hospital. On September 12, the hospital sent out an emergency request for assistance. Not long after, 11 of the 17 staff members of the Yambuku Church Hospital contracted the disease and died, and the hospital was urgently closed. With who assistance, infected patients and those who have had contact with them are isolated. According to medical experts, this is the Ebola virus at work. With the joint efforts of all parties, the epidemic was finally controlled within three months. The Ebola outbreak in Zaire also came at a time when the Ebola outbreak occurred in the towns of Maredi, Ezara and the surrounding areas of Sudan's West Equatoria Province, which borders Zaire, mainly through personal contact in hospitals, and many medical personnel were infected. The outbreak in Sudan lasted for up to 5 months. After several outbreaks, Ebola mysteriously disappeared for 15 years until it made a comeback in Gabon in 1994. Since then, there have been several outbreaks of Ebola in Africa, killing tens of thousands of people, especially in West Africa.