Bat broth

As you may be aware, there is an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the West African nation of Guinea. The frightening disease has killed 63 people so far, and is transmitted by bats and by animals that have eaten fruit contaminated by bat feces or saliva. Because the local cuisine includes bats - usually cooked in a peppery soup or smoked over a fire – the government has officially banned selling bats and consuming bat soup, which is also eaten in Asia and the Pacific (IMAGE ABOVE). Even though boiled bat meat may be safe, butchering the animals for the table and eating their smoked meat may still transmit the virus. Remy Lamah, the country’s health minister, said, “We discovered the vector agent of the Ebola virus is the bat. We sent messages everywhere to announce the ban. People must even avoid consumption of rats and monkeys. They are very dangerous animals.”

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