PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 28, 2020
Many scientists believe the coronavirus pandemic originated with a bat in China. But in a twist, biologists in Maine and New England are more concerned about bats contracting the virus from humans. That is why four Maine wildlife rehabilitation centers this fall joined others across New England in sending samples from injured bats to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Boston, to help researches there better understand the potential for human-to-animal transmission of the virus. The threat to bat populations in North America could be catastrophic.