How bat behavior affects the risk of viruses jumping to people
Official title: Beyond discovery: bat behavior and virus shedding as drivers of spillover risk
Funded at University of Arkansas at Fayetteville · NIH-11138714 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will track bat movements and virus shedding in wild bat populations to learn when and how viruses that can infect people are most likely to spill over.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Arkansas at Fayetteville NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fayetteville, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $700,636 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI185127-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11138714 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project does not enroll patients; it involves field studies of wild bats and collaboration with local communities in Kenya and Belize rather than clinical participation.
✕Less likely to help
People currently seeking clinical treatment for COVID-19, rabies, or Ebola will not receive direct medical benefit from this bat-focused field research.
What this research studies
The team will follow bat populations in Taita Hills, Kenya and Orange Walk, Belize over several years to collect samples showing when bats shed coronaviruses, rabies virus, and Bombali ebolavirus. They will use tracking devices and direct observations to record bat movements, roost use, and responses to disturbances, and will run field experiments such as controlled displacements to see how changes in bat behavior affect viral exposure. Laboratory testing of bat samples will be combined with behavioral and ecological data to link specific bat actions and environmental conditions to higher spillover risk. The goal is to identify practical actions or timing that reduce chances of viruses moving from bats to people or domestic animals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help prevent future outbreaks by identifying situations and actions that lower human exposure to dangerous bat-borne viruses.
How similar studies have gone: Wildlife surveillance has previously found bat viruses and guided outbreak source identification, but long-term behavior-linked field experiments like this are relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
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University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Fayetteville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Forbes, Kristian Michael — University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Study coordinator: Forbes, Kristian Michael
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.