Virus link to flying foxes
Updated
Australian researchers say the loss of habitat may be forcing flying foxes to react by becoming deadly viral time bombs.
An outbreak of Hendra Virus in southeast Queensland caused the death of an equine vet earlier this month, while five horses were destroyed at the Redlands Veterinary Clinic.
CSIRO virologist, Dr Linfa Wang, says there is an emerging theory that flying foxes' immune systems are naturally reacting to human interference.
He says other viruses linked to stressed flying fox colonies include the deadly Ebola virus in Africa and the 2003 SARS epidemic in southern China.
