Why does it seem like a lot of epidemics come from bats?

Answer 1

They are mammals that fly, so on one hand we have mobility. Humans have largely been moving into areas that bats live, meaning more contact between bats directly and also bats to the mammals that live in close contact w their humans (like farm mammals). They also live in large numbers and close proximity to each other, sharing pathogens with one another. Plus, bats have a sophisticated immune system so they don’t really get sick w these pathogens. In other words, a perfect storm of factors that make bats really “ideal” hosts.