Flying vertebrates and their role in the transmission and spread of selected pathogens

Flying vertebrates are natural reservoir hosts and vectors for many infectious disease agents. Bats, along with birds, are highly susceptible to a wide range of pathogens in the wild; they can contribute to the emergence of new outbreaks of infectious diseases, including those caused by zoonotic pathogens. Currently, the occurrence of infectious diseases, including zoonoses, is closely linked to socio-economic, environmental, and ecological factors in the external environment. One of the most important preventive methods is surveillance, which, through targeted trapping, will focus on the detailed isolation and identification of pathogens in populations of flying vertebrates, along with determining the level of infestation in the areas where they occur. The project aims not only to investigate the causative agents of infectious diseases transmissible from bats and birds to humans, but also to formulate hypotheses and forecasts regarding the future occurrence of infectious diseases within the context of One Health.