Australian Scientists Find New Virus From Bats, What's The Impact?

JAKARTA - Australian scientists discovered a new virus originating from fruit-eating bats (flying ox). The virus, called Salt Gully, was first identified by the CSIRO research team, Australia's national science institute through a sample of bat urine in Queensland.

This virus includes thehenipavirus family, just like the Hendra virus, which once caused deadly infections in horses and humans in Australia and the Nipah virus that had caused an outbreak in Asia.

Even so, the researchers emphasized that people don't need to panic. Salt Gully virus is new to the world of science, but that doesn't mean it's immediately dangerous.

"Although Salt Gully virus is new to science, there is no reason to cause public panic," said Jennifer Barr, experimental scientist at CSIRO's Australian Center for Disease Preparedness (ACDP), quoted from CSIRO's official website.

Barr explained that the traces of this virus had actually been around for a long time.

"We have found Salt Gully virus in bat samples since 2011. This means that this virus has been circulating in nature for more than a decade without evidence of causing disease in animals or humans," he said.

Even so, this discovery remains important for further research. Researchers are studying how Salt Gully virus is different from Hendra and Nipah as well as their potential impact on humans and animals.

"Initial findings show that Salt Gully virus does not use the same cell receptor as Hendra or Nipah. The infection process is likely different. Therefore, we cannot predict whether this virus could trigger an outbreak in the future," Barr explained.

Researchers insist Hendra's vaccine for horses remains effective and the discovery of this virus does not change the health risks of today's bats.

However, with the discovery of this new virus, scientists can develop diagnostic tests so that if one day there is transmission to animals or humans, early detection can be done.

"Now that this virus has been identified, diagnostic tests can be made. That way if there is transmission from bats, we can detect them more quickly and prevent wider spread." Barr added.

This research was published in the September edition of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal and is a step forward in understanding the virus from wildlife that has the potential to pose a health risk for humans and livestock.