Around The World In 7 Diseases

[@domm6812]

Biologist here: Bats don't carry these viruses because they're particularly unclean or anything like that. They actually transmit them because they often have exceptional immune systems that can keep them alive even though they're infected, which unfortunately gives more opportunities for a virus to spread.

[@ericsmith6394]

I have trouble with this idea. Are you saying other species are 'cleaner' because they die faster when infected? Are bats just better at avoiding symptoms but not infection? It's hard to reconcile an immune system being 'exceptional' while not actually killing pathogens. Or at least not killing them fast enough that a typical individual is safe to be around or preventing endemic infections of the species.

[@IloveJ2AChungHua]

⁠@@ericsmith6394There is a vid on YT that explains the immune system of bats. You should def check it out. It’s pretty cool to know. Part of the reason is apparently how bats don’t “react” to infections as readily as let’s say humans. The lack of immuno-response may sound bad, but it actually inhibits the viruses to cause further harm by not having the body engaging it - kinda like how you can’t lose if you don’t fight the war. Just for eg fevers are caused by our bodies trying to fight infections, and though it may help, fever itself can also cause discomfort + if it lasts long enough, your body might get harmed in the process (protein denaturing is just one of the ways things go could wrong). So it’s a very tricky biological balance but bats have evolved to be superb in harbouring viruses without them harming them… scary

[@gregsus4536]

And SciShow did a video about bats and disease 4 years ago. Just search for "Why Bats Carry Deadly Diseases"

[@thecarpking9773]

@@IloveJ2AChungHua It helps being resistant to diseases when you roost in large colonies where disease can spread quickly from individual to individual, I reckon.

[@BryanLu0]

​@@ericsmith6394Quite literally, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" If the bats don't get sick, then it's not really an infection, is it?

[@anhedonicauthor]

CJD is tragic. My girlfriend’s uncle suddenly went blind completely out of the blue one day, and literally 14 days later, he was dead. The day before he died, he was diagnosed with CJD, and passed not even 24 hours later. In that time he developed dementia at such a scary rate, I think it was after a week he no longer recognised my girlfriend (his niece, obviously.) It was completely unexpected, and just as tragic. No one is sure where or when he got it, but I think there were assumptions it was several decades ago, so it was a case of a very long dormancy period.

[@FoodNerds]

I’m sorry about this.

[@thecervineprincej3986]

I’m so sorry that happened! That is truly sad and terrifying! I hope she is doing alright.

[@Yosetime]

Holy! What a shocking and terrible thing to have to go through. Might not sound good, but, once his dementia set in, he was probably, assumably, in a better place, not knowing what was coming. Maybe I'm wrong, but I hope I am right. Hugs to you all and thank you for sharing.

[@ferretyluv]

If he traveled to England in the 90s and ate a burger, that’s where he got it. It’s why my boyfriend can’t donate blood.

[@childofcascadia]

@ferretyluv They are talking about creutzfeldt jakob disease (CJD), not variant creutzfeldt jakob disease (vCJD). CJD is an exceedingly rare idiopathic (no known cause) prion disease that comes out of nowhere, may be genetic, may be environmental. Its very, very rare, and very awful. vCJD is "mad cow disease" that humans get by eating prion tainted beef. They arent the same thing. You can end up with CJD having never gone to England or eaten English beef. So, no, if someone gets CJD - they got it for an unknown reason, not eating burgers in England.

[@BradGryphonn]

I'm an Aussie, and used to rescue flying foxes (fruit bats) from barbed wire fences etc. I never acquired Lyssavirus, even though I received a few scratches and bites over the years. I started wearing gloves after the virus was discovered, and the source was ascertained.

[@MaternalUnit]

Thank you for taking care of our fellow earthlings!

[@markchapman6800]

I had no idea that it was related to rabies, a disease that we take some care to keep out of the country.

[@ajchapeliere]

I follow one of the rescuers who uploads to KZbin (Megabattie), and she's said that estimates put the rate of ABLV carriers at less than 1% of the bat population. So what you're saying tracks. Rabies is one of those things where the consequences of an infection are bad enough that even the minimal risk isn't worth it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[@hungrybirdswildliferehabil209]

All wildlife carers now have to get the rabies vaccine before rescuing any bat. It is extremely rare to see a bat with ABLV.

[@Schutti73]

@@ajchapeliereMaybe there are more bats with lyssa because they dont get sick. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpqliZt5p8R9ptk OT: In Thailand they have a rabis lyssa problem with stray dogs. And they fenced a urban area and catched all dogs and checkt them. And dependet of the part of the city, 6-16% had rabis This german emigrant taks about Rabis in Thailand: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKe8o4d5oKuintU (If you cannot unterstand german language switch the subtitles to your language).

[@Xenonmorph__]

Reference lab worker here. We get a CJD sample weekly. Typically a rule out, but they have been positive. We double glove and double bag those ones. Stay safe folks.

[@violet4481]

do we know how the spread manifests? it's proteins so how do they spread and affect other humans?

[@skyebeest]

@@violet4481 We do have the genetic CJD in our family. 2 of my mom's brothers and my mom died from it. So for this one there is a 50% chance of inheriting the bad gene from a parent. In my case I was the "lucky" one amongst my siblings. Decided not to have children so it will stop with me. I am not alowed to be a blood or organ donor.

[@cyancoyote7366]

You could NOT pay me enough to work in a lab (OR NEAR ONE) where CJD or any prion samples might turn up.

[@mabinogidrws]

Where are you located? I just commented about how Australia only just changed the blood donation rules so those of us exposed to mad cow can give blood now.

[@apokailyptic2899]

@@mabinogidrws No, they changed the rules so that those people who come from the UK can give blood (where the disease originates). People exposed to mad cow disease definitely cannot give blood.

[@DarkMatterZine]

Australian here. Gotta say, bats are the LEAST of our concerns. They don’t ambush you on the toilet seat, they don’t jump out at you, they don’t… It’s easy to leave bats alone, and they return the favour. I’ve been below a swarm of bats at night. Amazing experience. And, by the amazing dexterous ability of NOT interfering with them in any way and staying on the ground, I had no problems.

[@Yosetime]

I concur. Same when in Costa Rica. Anything that crawls or comes from the ground, will give you nightmares! Bats, we just stay low and run away. They may be harmless but they are still creepy, especially when there's hundreds of them together. Yikes!

[@Jadeserphant]

“Ambush you on the toilet seat?” Thanks I’ll pass…….. but I gotta ask, what attacks you? The worst I’ve run into where in outhouses while camping. A little spider, and a mosquito the size of a small dog……..oh and a goat head, don’t ask. It was a prank at a festival, unfortunately I’d been drinking and thought I was having a weird religious experience of the nightmare variety.

[@DarkMatterZine]

@@Jadeserphant most creatures don’t attack unless they feel threatened but if you’re between a snake and its burrow, you’re in the way. In mating season snakes are also AGGRESSIVE. It’s best to be REALLY NOISY in the bush so they have plenty of warning. Crocs attack of course. And sharks apparently mistake surfers for tuna. I think as long as humans have a respect for the bush and our vulnerability, joking aside, we’re ok. But that’s also like the environment: people who leave their cars after breaking down in the outback tend to be found after they’ve died. It’s a matter of knowing the environment and taking precautions.

[@Jadeserphant]

@@DarkMatterZine My family and I are campers and hikers and I have to agree that awareness and respect go a long way to keeping you safe outdoors. But I’m usually in Southern Appalachia and I think y’all’s “bush” is a lot less tamed than ours “woods.” I’ve always wanted to visit Australia but some of the stuff I’ve seen on your wildlife is downright scary. The craziest things we see, around here, are catamounts, bears, skunks and rattlesnakes. Although once I was camping with a bunch of former military friends and watched them absolutely freak out over an armadillo in the bushes. Granted they *sound* like Bigfoot, and I’ve seen them survive being run over by cars and even shotgun blasts, but they are fairly harmless despite having serious claws. They aren’t afraid of crap and you should have seen those big bad soldier’s faces when that bitty armadillo came out. Lololol

[@DarkMatterZine]

@@Jadeserphant Wow. To be honest I think your possums look like a nightmare someone dreamed up. Yes we have scary stuff but if you are careful, do your research etc, you’ll be fine. If you want to visit Australia perhaps start “small”. Do some of the touristy stuff and do day walks instead of driving on “those” roads in the outback. It’s a BIG country, you don’t havre to do life-threatening stuff to have a memorable experience. A lot of people don’t realise how big Australia is. We have CATTLE STATIONS bigger than Texas. The distance between Perth in WA and Brisbane in Qld is about the same as the distance between Barcelona and Moscow. Which is part of the reason Australia is dangerous: if you break down in the outback it’s possible no one will drive past for A WEEK. But if you stay on the east coast, you can see mountains and the reef and… there is so much to see without going off the beaten track.

[@mamadragon2581]

Poor Savannah was *so* grossed out by the whole Guinea worm thing and I am right there with them.

[@Challkboard]

As soon as they were explaining what happens with it, I immediately wanted to crawl out of my skin.

[@katiemarshall8033]

Tbh once I survived the parasitology module in uni, I simply cannot be phased anymore. Parasites are just…yeah

[@jasontankable]

I've known about guinea worm since reading about it in my childhood and I'm glad my trauma is reaching new audiences. The worm normally exits via an extremity, but there have been cases where it has exited from the face or even the tongue. Enjoy my active childhood imagination's trauma, folks!

[@winterwatson6437]

hi friend! savannah’s pronouns are they/them

[@mamadragon2581]

@@winterwatson6437 I didn't realize that. My apologies to Savannah, then.

[@forcedfeedbackclassicgamer5499]

My dad nearly died from Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever around 35 years ago. He initially spent a week in the hospital. It caused permanent damage to his liver which later caused additional hospitalizations years after the fact.

[@cameronmoran618]

Is he no longer able to eat red meat?

[@michaelmayhem350]

If unsure take him to outback steakhouse to verify.

[@philbert006]

Mine too. About the same time. He was in the hospital for a month before they figured it out.

[@kubbybear5458]

​@@cameronmoran618 Rocky mountain spotted fever is different than alpha gal (mammal meat allergy--but maybe not all of them...‽), but I kind of now want to look into some sort of correlation b/c of the mention of the liver problems? I spent a lot of last night reading about glycosylation(in relation to alpha-gal) and saw a mention of liver-related enzymes. I've been researching this stuff for a personal project and was super excited when this video started off with encephalopathy!

[@paigeharrison3909]

My brother got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever when we lived in South Carolina. It was probably about 40 years ago. Apparently he hasn't had any long term problems. He has had some kidney problems, but those seem to run in our family.

[@spidalack]

"Ebola's bigger, meaner cousin" Now there is something to induce nightmares ...

[@ayhay4686]

They will issue a "stay home" banner for everyone except if you're dark black because they are scared to be accused of racism. They can deport someone who applied as a student and went through the immigration process legally (including school fees, vaccines, taxes...etc) , legible for citizenship, yet if you were dropped by an anonymous airline or walked through the Mexican border you're welcomed, shown shelter, while your legal papers are being processed. Please, do your future integrity and credibility a favor and just open your borders and stop whining about illegal immigrants. 😅

[@faytleingod1851]

They're s book about that called "the hot zone' it's a hypothetical what if ebola killed it's victims slower and actually spread better into a global pandemic.... But the funny part is the book is classified as non-fiction. Besides the fact it is fantasy.

[@ThatSoddingGamer]

I literally paused the video to contemplate the notion of 'Ebola, but worse'.

[@Pfromm007]

Ebola, but worse, sounds like the rage virus

[@wjm154]

@@Pfromm007or the T-Virus 🥲

[@Eppimedia]

Welp, there goes my plan for a global chain of exotic bat petting zoos. Thanks alot SciShow!

[@californianabroad2778]

😂😂😂

[@FoodNerds]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@YunxiaoChu]

Vaccinate the bats and/or isolate them from disease sources

[@angelikalindenau943]

❤ keep pushing forward, you're on your way to somewhere awesome!

[@RikkiestAndTikkiest]

It's OK, just sell them off at a wet market in [REDACTED], nothing bad will happen.

[@Hannah_Em]

"Fun" fact about variant CJD: the outbreak was largely caused by, what else, crappy UK food safety and animal welfare regulations! The huge BSE outbreak in the 80s and 90s was traced back to the delightful British farming practice of... feeding cows with (amongst other things) ground up dead cows (it's literally called "Meat and Bone Meal", or MBM) to try and improve milk yields. It worked (basically by increasing the amino acid intake of cows)... but caused a huge BSE epidemic in the UK, which is largely how it was localised here and why all the vCJD cases are clustered strongly around the UK. Turns out, if you get _one_ case of BSE, and then casually grind that cow up and feed it to the rest of your cows, then congrats: the rest of your cows all have misfolded proteins (i.e. BSE) now, too! Thankfully feeding ruminants MBM is banned basically worldwide now, although apparently it's still used in monogastric animal feed? I still remember as a super young kid growing up in the very late 90s and early 2000s occasionally seeing like,,, troughs of disinfectant that you had to walk through to get to various places, to avoid the spread of "mad cow disease" on your shoes or w/e (EDIT/CORRECTION: it's been pointed out that I was mixing mad cow disease up with the foot and mouth disease outbreak which happened in 2001, my bad! Although tbf I was like... barely more than a toddler at the time lol. thanks to @WingedAsarath for pointing that out!). Once the link was made to feeding cows MBMs, you can imagine how many headlines along the lines of "Soylent Beef" got run in various newspapers :P

[@kubbybear5458]

I remember those reports of mad cow! Anyway, recently I read that sometimes cjd just has a spontaneous rare occurrence. I read about kuru, a similar disease that has a theory that it started by one of these spontaneous rare cases, and spread amongst a population that had a tradition of funerary cannibalism. After cannibalism was outlawed there, kuru has supposedly died out (in 2005 or 2009). Curiously, an EEG can be used to discern kuru from cjd...which makes me wonder about the theory of kuru originating from cjd. A very light search might claim kuru is the first human prion disease. Kind of a tangent, but very fascinating to me--i'm working on a personal project around these topics

[@stellaluna6421]

From what I've heard, part of the problem involved the government refusing to admit a possible link and publicly denying any possibility that there was a problem with British beef, even after other countries were (correctly) banning import of the beef.

[@jlzombiecat]

I have never been able to donate blood because I was in England between such and such years as a baby. They were worried it could be lurking in my brain I guess? I recently heard that they changed that rule because it has been so long, and I can apparently donate blood if I want to now.

[@WingedAsarath]

Were the disinfectant areas not for foot & mouth disease? I grew up here in the same time period and I could have sworn it was for f&m rather than mad cow disease.

[@Hannah_Em]

@@WingedAsarath Hmm, now you come to mention it I think I might be mixing those up actually, yeah

[@ichigoangel75]

"Bat infested cave" feels unfair to the bats, they're just chilling in their home

[@OhiChicken]

I visited my friends house and their house was INFESTED with humans... they were everywhere and kept touching you 🤢

[@samuela-aegisdottir]

Bats are the native inhabitants of the caves. unlike humans.

[@starrrr444]

Same vibe as "Shark infested water"

[@slidey1788]

I have a me infested couch

[@deanporter3509]

the elementary school was infested with children

[@urbannanni5864]

Valley Fever is endemic in the San Joaquin Valley of California. I know several people who were infected and one landmark, Shark Tooth Hill, has been closed for decades.

[@clarehidalgo]

Yeah, and baby livestock have to get tested for it using fecal samples EDIT: I remember Danelle from Weed 'em and Reap who has goats in Arizona's runt goat getting it because his immune system wasn't as strong as the other kids

[@allensmithphotography]

It's endemic across the southwest and is even spreading to the Midwest. But it definitely wasn't helpful to focus only on Arizona as where to get it.

[@christajennings3828]

Yeah, so far 2024 is a worse-than-usual year for Valley Fever in California.

[@oldsarj]

It's an occupational hazard for Southwestern archeologists because it is so common in charcoal, that is the remains of pre-Contact campfires. Nasty stuff.

[@TiredMomma]

Ticks can be active all year long. Last year in February, I got a tick bite. I got sick for 24hrs, but never had any rashes, just bad headaches and nausea. I was lucky because here in Missouri, a tick has killed a state park worker, couple of years ago, which caught a lot of attention in the news. What's scary is we were there the same time she was but none of us got bitten. Thank goodness!

[@kubbybear5458]

Ugh, ticks! So many possible diseases! I pulled out an embedded tick on my hand yesterday while on a hike in tn. crossed my fingers No season seems safe to not get ticks, esp when the winters don't have as concentrated cold as they used to.

[@Lolalogo]

I use to do BSE testing. Prions diseases are scary stuff!

[@lordyhgm9266]

Unless you’re a yeast cell I guess

[@hadesKIU]

​@@lordyhgm9266 What do yeast cells have against Prions? No brain to infect so no threat to worry about?

[@PendragonDaGreat]

As a Washingtonian, yes, Valley Fever has been detected in the state, on the warm, dry, eastern side of the state. The parts that are similar in climate to the San Joaquin Valley of California, where the disease is also endemic. Showing imagery of the western part of the state (those bridges are in Tacoma, Washington) is at best ill-informed, and at worst downright misleading. Is it a disease we should keep an eye on, including avoiding spreading its habitat through climate change? Yes. Is it something to freak out over that Seattle is about to be in danger? No, at least not yet.

[@allensmithphotography]

Didn't know it was found that far to the north west, but definitely something to watch. From the southwest, I can definitely advise to avoid underground construction zones to avoid exposure.

[@Leyrann]

This was my thought as well. Washington state has genuine desert areas that don't look out of place for the typical 'desert states' or even Mexico.

[@andreahughes1500]

Do tick checks and tuck pants in socks. Check! Don’t touch bats. Check! Boil your water. Check! Don’t eat British beef. Check! Don’t go out in a dust storm. Check! I feel safer already.😂

[@WingedAsarath]

Just a heads up, you can safely eat our beef nowadays 😊 Much tighter regulation and now decades without problems means it's perfectly safe. I mean, I live here and we all eat it now just fine!

[@Elora445]

@@WingedAsarath Documentaries I have watched that doesn't support that. I'm sure it has become better, but I don't trust that it is that good. No British meat for me, thanks. You can have CJD for yourselves. :P

[@hunterBoaz6]

Americans can just stick with the foot and mouth from the massive Argentine cow grazing pastures they use for Mcds. Irish beef is all localised and always safe.

[@allangibson8494]

Don’t hang round where bats are - Australian Lyssa virus was discovered when infected bats peed on horse feed resulting in the deaths of the race horses and their handlers.

[@andreahughes1500]

Actually I am more likely to get CWD from one of the local deer. But they forgot to include that prion disease. The question of my ever consuming British beef is quite academic, given that I live in the midwestern US

[@danielleremer4190]

I was momentarily distracted but soon as she said “John Green” I immediately knew they were saying something about tuberculosis.

[@Challkboard]

The TB lecture was amazing!! I highly recommend!!!

[@winterwatson6437]

hi friend! savannah’s pronouns are they/them

[@flightsnotfeelings5867]

I just finished a 3-month long epidemiology project on TB and I watched too many John green videos of him. It was so helpful and I got an A so win-win!

[@Wingedshadowwolf]

I had seen the thumbnail, but hadn't watched it. Now I will for sure!

[@angelikalindenau943]

He is a great ambassador

[@krealyesitisbeta5642]

*Now for around the world in 81 diseases.*

[@mitchellglaser]

I would binge watch that show

[@rachelliz4786]

​@@mitchellglasersame

[@savagegardenrox]

I had a chemistry lab partner who had survived Valley Fever. He developed endocarditis. He showed me a news article about himself (his case was notable due to the severity and the fact that he was not in the typical demographics for Valley Fever patients)

[@DrewNorthup]

Please don't hate on bats, its not their fault and we need them more than they need us.

[@BionicMilkaholic]

Don't hate bats, just love them from a distance.

[@angelikalindenau943]

Yep - you try and eat even half as many midges as they do! 😊

[@mikesanders8621]

Plus it isn't their fault that they're tough enough to survive diseases that would kill other animals. They just happen to live, meaning they can pass stuff on to humans.

[@benjaminforman8901]

"Take a hike, guinea worms!" That seemed heartfelt🤣

[@noeldill1682]

The Carter Center, founded by President Jimmy Carter, gets much of the credit for this success.

[@oldsarj]

@@noeldill1682 Greatest former president in US history.

[@_rhino1770]

My lab at Emory is doing research in ticks right now where we monitor the prevalence of Rickettsia rickettsii in ticks in Georgia by grinding them up and then testing the tick slurry for the bacterial DNA via PCR!

[@DandelionDogged]

As a resident of the state, thank you.

[@boopbiffsnose]

I work at a cat clinic in AZ, and valley fever is one of the things we routinely test for as the next step when a patient is losing weight and regular bloodwork comes back normal. It can be anywhere in the body, so the only symptom all valley fever kitties have is weight loss. And it can actually be transmitted from infected animals if it's in the skin, happens to be producing spores at the time, and you get your face too close to a lesion and breathe it in.

[@corruptedminds5679]

My great aunt was one of very few Americans to get mad cows disease after a trip overseas. Because of that me and basically anyone who had prolonged contact with her through her life can never donate blood, just in case.

[@shanemcfadden6427]

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever survivor here, from central Virginia. Got lucky to have been seen by a doctor who had just gone thru a long, tedious diagnosis of another patient with the same problem. It is VERY hard to identify.

[@kblue905]

My daughter had it when she was 4. Luckily our ER doc had just returned from a medical mission to rural West Virginia where he had seen several cases.

[@Calpurnia917]

I contracted Valley Fever after working as an archaeologist in Phoenix. As a paleopathologist , it was fascinating; as patient, not as fun. I’m still dealing with problems related to the disease. Also, Disease and Human Evolution was my favorite class in college, though the parasites section, right before lunch, was difficult to digest.

[@aellalee4767]

When I saw that part of this episode my first thought was "I'm never taking a job in Arizona." I don't do archaeology in the US anyway, but now I'm less tempted. Sorry to hear you caught Valley fever. I hope you found some interesting stuff on the site you worked where you got it.

[@oldsarj]

When my late wife (a clinical bacteriologist by trade) was taking parasitology and wanted to share all the fun things she'd learned, the whole family's response was, "Mom, please, not at dinner!"

[@gl15col]

My ex got Valley Fever while we lived in Tucson, and he was real, real sick. In the hospital for days, could hardly breathe.

[@bethdumont9020]

Aussie here. We call the Australian Bat Lyssa Virus Hendra Virus. First discovered in horses in a Brisbane, QLD suburb called Hendra. Got transferred to a vet called in to work with the horses and his family.

[@janetmckenzie199]

Lyssa and Hendra are actually 2 different things and both are associated with batts. But Hendra usually affects horses.Hendra virus is related to the Nipah virus and is Hendra henipavirus and is bad but does have survivors. But only 3 of 7 known cases

[@kiwimunster]

Once again, New Zealand is left off the map (0:17). 😂😂 We are real, we do exist.

[@lizichell2]

Luckily you don't have all these frightful maladies

[@kiwimunster]

@@lizichell2- no snakes, or large carnivores either. Only native Mammals are Bats!

[@LesliePajuelo]

you're thanos snapped back into existance by 6:00

[@kellydalstok8900]

@@kiwimunster and humans.

[@Corqii]

⁠@@kiwimunstertechnically humans are aswell, i think? considering theyve been in nz for about 700 years? I’m not sure what point somethjng becomes native, but I think humans could be considered native mammals to nz? okay so according to google, as long as something ends up somewhere naturally and not due to human intervention they become native, so? not native! but still, māori are native to nz. “you are native to the place you were born, and no amount of time living in another place will change that. This is because "indigenous" describes any group of people native to a specific region, and refers to people who lived there before colonists or settlers arrived, defined new borders, and began to occupy the land. Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of a place, and their villages and territories were the first ones to be established in a particular place and were around long before modern cities, states or countries existed.” very cool!

[@crapstirrer]

I think there's a vaccine for the Aussie bat rabies but it's usually only given to wildlife rescue, zoo staff and anyone working with animals.

[@leemasters3592]

Its cheaper and esier to vaccinate or treat the humans handling the bats than it is to vaccinate the bats themselves, even those in a zoo or similar.

[@Alice_Walker]

I live in Australia and I don't think I ever realised before this video that Lissa virus is similar to rabies. I just knew to stay away from bats 🦇

[@arthurmartin4616]

To be fair though, that one disease is not the only reason to stay clear of bats.

[@waterunderthebridge7950]

I mean that’s like saying taxonomically that humans are similar to mammals; Lyssavirus is the genus name while the rabies virus is a species under that

[@ruth.greening]

My father had an old army trench coat that housed a family of bats, hanging up in his workshop! We never got sick, but maybe they weren't the right variety!

[@joelgoetze]

We have Hendra virus in bats too in Qld, its close to Nipah virus.

[@ruth.greening]

@@joelgoetze yes, I was thinking of that in another comment, but couldn't remember the name! Thank you. 👍✅

[@MrTallHead]

"Bat-infested caves"? No way, they live there! Those are *human-infested* caves.

[@mal2ksc]

Marburg may be spread by bats, but it's not exclusive to them. At least one outbreak was carried by monkeys.

[@oldsarj]

Yeah, it was. In Marburg!

[@chrism2964]

A family friend died of vCJD. It really was quite horrific, like the worst mix of dementia, parkinsons and ALS all in one rapidly progressing illness. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[@philbert006]

My father contracted rocky mountain spotted fever, here in Memphis,TN. He was hospitalized for more than a month before they actually figured it out. Definitely checks out.

[@Corqii]

As someone who was born and lived in arizona for a decent chunk of my life and visit most summers, yeah, don’t drive with your windows rolled down unless you want valley fever or hayfever! Avoid the dust storms, and just generally be smart. Wash your hands. I live in texas, water here isn’t entirely safe where I live and we’ve gotten brain eating amoeba warnings! Boil water.

[@alansizer2006]

I had an aunt on a farm here in South Australia who died of CJD. It's likely she got it from eating the brain of a sheep that had scrapies (equivalent of BSE).

[@kellydalstok8900]

The British cows were fed animal waste containing ground up sheep carcasses. That’s how they think mad cow disease started.

[@bethsmith3421]

I contacted Valley Fever when i lived in Bakersfield, CA. I had flu symptoms for about a week, but a crazy little prolonged symptom or side effect was, I craved ketchup for more than a year. The cravings were crazy, like if there wasn't something on the menu in a restaurant that I would eat ketchup on I would get really emotional. I would liken it to the cravings during pregnancy (other people's disruptions), but I didn't have craving during pregnancy, so I'm assuming it was similar.

[@teresaellis7062]

That is a wild symptom/side effect! I wonder what was in ketchup that your brain/body felt it needed.

[@FutureTechHQ]

Wow Good for you😐

[@mfaizsyahmi]

_pats bat_ "this bad boy can fit so many diseases!"

[@ku8721]

"People don't usually bring bats home as souvenirs" *Bruce Wayne has entered the chat*

[@Bigbadredg14nt]

To be fair to the valley fever, close to half of washington is high altitude desert, so its pretty dry and warm during the summer.

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Ooooh the TB video was absolutely brilliant! I watched it yesterday and would highly recommend. ❤

[@nickim6571]

Deer have a form of BSE and it's pretty common among whitetail deer in the US.

[@-w-.]

You mean chronic wasting disease? That's the most common prion disease that is endangering deer that I know of

[@nickim6571]

@@-w-. yes and a lot of people eat the meat without testing it

[@kubbybear5458]

​@@nickim6571 after my friend gave me venison and offered me more, I looked up the locations to get deer tested in my state (tn) and they're all concentrated in the west which is where the most cwd cases are. So sadly, testing can be inaccessible plus it can average about two weeks to get results back. For hungry people, this isn't feasible. Plus I wonder if the deer processing facilities sterilize (with VERY high temp/incineration being the only way to get rid of these prions) in between the deer carcasses people bring in. Geezowhiz it's a bunch of terrible cascading thoughts. Even if one processes a deer at home, there's the chance of that misfolded protein getting all over Anyway, my friend lives in the east, where there is much lower recording of incidence--but I also wonder if it's that ol trick of not knowing=non existence

[@kubbybear5458]

It also spreads to cervids other than deer (both free-ranging and captive populations) and there have been cases in other places such as reindeer in Norway and moose in Finland and Sweden and even found in South Korea from deer imported from Canada

[@S3lkie-Gutz]

@@kubbybear5458our moose and caribou/reindeer populations in northern canada and alaska are at risk of transmission too. moose and caribou are already scarce farther away from the tree line and struggle to calve because of habitat destruction from fossil fuel production housing and agricultural development and commercial exploitation like poaching and trophy hunting, now add deer overpopulation which makes spread of diseases easier and predator underpopulation and lack of indigenous land protection methods. yeah, welcome to the shitshow.

[@GayGHvain87]

Poor bats get such a bad rap because of their weirdly strong immune system D: but yeah staying away from them is still the smartest move : they get to live another day instead of going extinct, you get to live another day too, and we don't get back to confinement x)

[@azblueauthor8081]

I lost a beloved dog to Valley Fever after my family took her on a vacation in Arizona. Because it's so isolated of a disease the vets back home had no idea what she'd contracted.

[@angelikalindenau943]

That's tragic, taking your dog for an adventure surely turned sour.

[@colbyr7811]

I enjoy the way this presenter presents, she seems like such a sweetheart too.

[@sabrinashelton1997]

Really?

[@Challkboard]

I also really like the way that Host: Savannah (they/them) presents information as well. They are an excellent educator, and have a great sense of humor!

[@Jynxedlove]

My bf's mom got RMSF from a tick in NY. After getting lyme twice.

[@cheriesnakedancer3293]

Seems more people need to use insect repellent, if possible, to help keep the ticks away in the 1st place. I spray my skin, my pants legs and my socks. And more if going thru tall grasses. And don't forget to thoroughly go thru your hair -- ticks' fav hang-out.

[@katyowens3119]

Just a quick plug for This Podcast Will Kill You. They’ve done an episode on almost every single one of these diseases.

[@kubbybear5458]

I used to listen to that podcast a bunch before 2020! Was recently thinking of looking it up again! I loved it

[@_andrewvia]

Thank you Savannah. You honestly inhabit the narrative and make it real. Awesome!

[@tjg5619]

4:40 House M.D. viewer: “wait a second this sounds familiar…”

[@pamelapilling6996]

Watched John's lecture. It was amazing.

[@savagegardenrox]

I'm vaccinated against rabies specifically so that I the opportunity to work with bats in my capacity as a veterinary nurse ever arises I will be able to take the opportunity. I love bats!

[@t0mn8r35]

This was very informative and well presented. I won't be sleeping for a week.

[@redsparks2025]

14:05 Is there anything in Australia that won't kill you. 🤣🤣🤣

[@BlackIndigenousPosse]

Every single marsupial.

[@Respectable_Username]

At least you can't get actual rabies here!

[@ComaDave]

Yeah, me. Unless I don't get my morning bucket of coffee, then all bets are off. 😀

[@lyrasiren7940]

Literally most things as long as you don’t touch or annoy them

[@Hurricayne92]

Well on the up side we dont have any particularly large predators like bears or mountain lions

[@jepomer]

I like bats! They were the subject of my graduate studies. It's not good to overdue the warnings for any life forms. It causes unnecessary angst among the general public. But it is good to respect any life form - especially if you are not familiar with it - this include any life forms that may be from another heavenly body.

[@KippinCollars]

I met a neurologist who told me about CJD. He'd only seen one case in his 35 year career. It's super rare.

[@jonathansnyder4075]

Mad cow disease was found in NC last year at a slaughterhouse. The cow came cow came from TN. I’m not sure why nobody is talking more about this. Please do look this up.

[@turtlefarm8742]

Sadly we might all be infected and never now it 😅 let's just hope kids can't get it

[@andreagriffiths3512]

@@turtlefarm8742kids can get it, sorry to say. It’s just that they won’t likely still be children when symptoms start to show as it can take decades.

[@ThatSoddingGamer]

9:15 - Look at that rousette bat and tell me it doesn't look like a mouse that decided it wanted to be bipedal and wear an epic wingsuit.

[@YuBeace]

That’s why various European languages call bats “leather mice” 🤓 The more you know!

[@joshgray1410]

Well thanks for the future nightmares about worms.

[@196cupcake]

This is really good. It would be cool if you guys did more videos to the effect of "here are some things that could kill you that you might not already know about."

[@t-bonejones3576]

There have been a couple cases of coccidiosis here in Oyster River in British Columbia, Canada. Nowhere near Arizona!

[@christajennings3828]

Coccidiosis is different than Valley Fever. Various types of Coccidiosis are fairly common in chickens and young livestock. I've had to treat goat kids for it in the past.

[@JoKaR80-d5r]

thanks for the info!! You're awesome!

[@deannastyer7806]

I was diagnosed with rocky mountain spotted fever at 4 years old. I visited my aunt in Chambersburg Pennsylvania, rode a pony that came from out west, and almost died until a doctor figured it out. The doctor had worked in Colorado, and until the test results came back, no one believed him. I am alive 38 years after a 106 degree fever.

[@mirrage42]

President Carter and Mrs Carter have done so much to help people.

[@levnzt6949]

@scishow Hi :) Marburg Inhabitant here. I was really positively surprised you knew of the Marburg virus disease (MVD, which is actually related to Ebola). Though Marburg is known for a lot of things, as a year long inhabitant and student it really struck me to have this beautiful city mentioned in one of your videos, even if it is because of a deadly virus ^^ One aspect gave me some itches though: As described in the video, "Marburg" is not a disease and therefore "Marburg" does not spread. It's a beautiful city in Germany, Hessia, which is also europes capital of the visually impaired, has one of the oldest universities (and also church-buildings) worldwide and is extremely liberal and open to all kinds of people, I mean even in Germany. (oh and we have the biggest density of bars of any german city in comparison to its size, so you're wholeheartedly invited to come here and visit our old city, which is basically a centuries old town around a castle on a hill.) So a very gentle please, I'd ask you to not equal the isolated term 'Marburg" with a disease in the future, since luckily there is already a term for it: Marburg virus disease (MVD) I mean, I guess you wouldn't like it if somebody said "New York is spreading and infecting people" am I right? :) Btw: anyone in need of a couple of samples? We got a surplus of doses lying around here in our research-centers ;p

[@Jessie_Helms]

I remember being terrified of getting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever back when I was in Boy Scouts in Alabama. Thankfully I never got it, or even met anyone who had it.

[@totalwartitan5118]

The unnerving bit for me is I've lived in the home range for both Valley Fever and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I haven't got either, thankfully, but still unnerving.

[@lindsayschmidt2177]

Valley fever is also incredibly common here in California, if I’m not mistaken (which I definitely might be) we actually have more cases than Arizona. At this point in my hometown it’s more likely all of us have valley fever and the majority just don’t show symptoms.

[@behaviortechacademy]

I remember hearing about Valley Fever when attending college in central California around 2012/2013. We were told to use the car air recirculation button to reduce the chances of breathing it when traveling by farms. I’m sure that doesn’t have too much of an impact… but I’m still paranoid about it to this day.😂

[@rleague685]

Wash your bat.

[@suzetteperkins1089]

Lol

[@KittySnicker]

Kentuckian here. That range of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is way too close for comfort!

[@SiKedek]

Wow - just did a mandated training on Valley Fever here at a transportation authority here in SoCal.

[@bellesbooks7782]

This host is so engaging! I really like their vocal styling, I hope we see more of 'em!

[@scottcameron174]

I personally think the next one to watch is Marburg. It's something I've been following since I was a small child (I'm now 30) high lethality rate, relatively moderate r0 and no known cure is never something you want to see in a pathogen.

[@cloudscovermyflaws]

As someone who heard about Guinea Worm from what I think was a previous SciShow video from several years ago, my blood went cold when I heard the name again. I definitely looked away from the screen during that.

[@coyote3836]

I love how I knew about these from House :3

[@ComaDave]

Marburg becoming airborne would be an unprecedented catastrophe.

[@CarmelitasNannyGoat]

Marburg scares the heck outta me.

[@dogueacademy]

My grandfather died of the acquired CJD. It incubated for decades, and then he died within a few months. It was horrible. My entire family had to be tested.

[@lesleyghostdragon3149]

"Cutie Cute Host Horrifies Viewers" Alternate video title 🤓

[@nymeria941]

In my pathology class in college, Guinea Worm was legit one of the worst things I learned about. It’s horrifying.

[@just_kos99]

I just happened to be in London the week the whole "Mad Cow Disease" thing came out. That was in 1996. Knowing that it can have a decades-long incubation period, I wonder if, by now, I would've started showing symptoms. I'm not overly concerned, however, just an interesting "what if?"

[@nola281]

Leave bats alone. Just leave bats alone.

[@jandoel]

It often perplexes me how afraid of ebola people in the US are. The CDC bulit a BSL-4 lab in Maryland to be able to work with Ebola. I don't remember how long it took to open because of public outcry, but it's an even stranger one when you realize we have a hemorrhagic fever endemic to the US: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis

[@abbyb6958]

If it’s in the news, Americans think it’s everywhere. If it’s not in the news, they rarely know it exists

[@popcorn200213]

I love learning about diseases and medicine and all related things - which is no surprise as I am a first year vet student....so cue my mix of horror/delight as you run through practically all the zoonotic diseases we have talked about between Virology and Microbiology so far. We even touched on Valley Fever- even though it isn't zoonotic. I really didn't realize until coming to vet school how many of our most serious diseases are not unique to us humans and how important a unified, One Health, model is for the future of medicine. Also I agree. DON'T TOUCH BATS.

[@FrankBoston]

Bats and ticks and worms oh my!

[@henrydickerson9776]

8:30 Nipah was the inspiration for the fictional disease in the movie Contagion. Still one of my favorite movies of all time, even though it was uncannily prescient.

[@princechiagozie5079]

There are Guinea warms in South Nigeria too

[@ashleyrodd8729]

John Green got me onto Crash Course. I kind of fell of when he did. I watched the Consumption doco though, great stuff.

[@Iamthelolrus]

Valley fever sucks... i know.

[@RobinCrusoe1952]

Its amazing we make it past our first birthday.

[@YuBeace]

And this is why we had (and some places still have) special celebrations for surviving your first 100 days. And why some of us didn’t name our babies on the first day. 😂

[@CazabichosManny]

My friend (A bat scpecialist): Hello!!! Me (A seasoned biologist): I love you, but please, always 1 yard away from me please!!!

[@GTaichou]

One of the ladies in my knitting group used to live in Arizona. Got valley fever, and was fine after standard treatment. Now she lives with us in Wisconsin, and this year Valley Fever came back in her knee. Had to have surgery to clean out the joint because it wasn't responding to treatment. Was a heck of a time - she had constant swelling and water on the knee.

[@Error403HRD]

My aunt got rocky moutnain spotted fever from her time in the marines and bc of that no one knew what the hell was wrong with her until it was a bit too late to do much. She's still alive but... well, she can't do much on her own.

[@drbaureis5934]

Kuru is another fascinating spongiform encephalopathy...caused by cannibalism. That one definitely isn't leaving it's area from what I understand. Man, is it freaky though.

[@rajesh_shenoy]

Thanks😄

[@stevie-ray2020]

Here in Australia, most bats are also classified as flying-foxes or fruit-bats, although some of the less common smaller species are technically just bats which have little direct contact with humans! However a few years ago in the northern states there was an outbreak of Hendra-virus amongst a few people who worked with horses that had contracted the disease! So yes, stay away them!

[@brotherfranciz]

OK, I think this is one of those times where ignorance is bliss. I don't need to know about these rare diseases - now I know about some of them (I stopped after Australia, where I live), I will be constantly worrying about catching it! I also plan on travelling to the USA in the future... So thanks for putting this worry in my mind... 😖

[@TK199999]

Rickettsia pox also known as R Pox, can even show symptoms that at first glance look like Small Pox. Though unlike how it is shown on tv, its actually quite easy for doctors to notice the difference, as long as they put the effort in.

[@rebeccak3770]

watching this while staying home sick from work really has it's own kind of irony.