Vampire bats in northern Mexico may be feeding on deer infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD), potentially facilitating the spread of the pathogen, according to reports from the specialized site cidrap.umn.edu.
Chronic wasting disease is caused by prions—infectious, misfolded proteins. This fatal pathology affects animals in the cervid family, including deer, elk, and moose.
Dr. Peter Larsen, co-director of the Minnesota Prion Research and Outreach (MNPRO) center, warns about the role these flying mammals could play in transmitting the disease.
Larsen recounted a personal experience during a 2022 expedition in Guyana, when he woke up to find blood on his feet after being bitten by a vampire bat.
This type of direct contact between bats and warm-blooded animals raises serious questions about what other pathogens these animals might be carrying into new regions.
Threat of species jump
Chronic wasting disease has been advancing across North America for decades. It has currently been detected in parts of New Mexico and Texas, with prevalence rates reaching up to 11% in mule deer in certain areas.
Climate change is driving the northward migration of vampire bats. Scientists predict these species will reach Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas within the next 10 to 50 years.
Larsen maintains that common vampire bats (_Desmodus rotundus_) in northern Mexico may already be feeding on CWD-positive individuals.
This feeding behavior could act as a biological bridge, allowing the prion to jump from one species to another or to expand its geographic range through the bat population.
