Bats

The Illinois Department of Health says an elderly man died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his neck and refusing rabies treatment. It's the first case in the state since 1954.

New research finds that sac-winged bat pups — a species of bat found in Central and South America — like to "babble" in ways that are remarkably similar to human babies.

For decades, the U.S. has spent many millions hunting down viruses in hope of stopping a pandemic. Yet the efforts failed. A group of researchers thinks there's a better strategy for the future.

EcoHealth Alliance is one of 11 recipients of funds to set up the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases. But the grant won't let them revisit earlier research on bats and coronavirus.

Evidence points to wildlife as the starting point. But it could take years to pinpoint the source.

In a letter sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, these U.S. scientists said they were "gravely concerned" about the abrupt termination of a federal grant to EcoHealth Alliance.

The project, run by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, aimed to identify places to monitor, come up with strategies to prevent spillover of the virus and get a jump on creating vaccines and treatments.

At first, tests were positive for porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Then something strange happened. The pigs stopped testing positive for that virus — but kept getting sick.