This project investigates the effects of man's alteration of environments on rabies infections in bats. The research involves the following interrelated components: 1) studies of the population ecology and genetics of two common species of bats in natural and in man-altered habitats; 2) surveillance for rabies exposure and infection in these wild populations; 3) investigation of the effects of immune system stress resulting from habitat change on the ability of bats to resist disease infection; 4) laboratory experiments to connect the effects of stress on the immune system of bats and their susceptibility to rabies under controlled conditions; 5) mathematical modeling to integrate the data from the field studies and laboratory experiments to achieve a predictive analysis of how habitat change and stress affect disease dynamics within wild populations of bats.
Within the last 40 years, bats have become the primary reservoir for human rabies infections in the U.S. These same years have witnessed the emergence of numerous infectious diseases (e.g., AIDS, Ebola, West Nile Virus, hantaviruses) that are major threats to human health. Man's alteration of environments and changes in the relationships between the diseases and the animals they infect are implicated in the emergence of each of these diseases. Beyond providing a better understanding of rabies, this study will address issues common to the ecology of many diseases that infect wildlife and man.
