The Egyptian fruit bat's immune system enables it to peacefully co-exist with Marburg virus, which can cause a swiftly deadly infection in humans. Although Marburg virus disease affects only a few dozen or hundred people a year, the case:fatality ratio in the scattered outbreaks ranges from 50% to 100%. A recent paper in Cell that explores the bat's genome reveals how its immune system may prevent the virus from harming the flying mammals, which may hold clues for preventing or treating the infection in humans.
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