Through the ‘Bats & Coronaviruses’ project, Drs. Keti Sidamonidze and Lela Urushadze and their team from the National Center for Public Health Research – R. Lugar Center, collaborate with WAB-Net partners to characterize the diversity of bats and bat-borne coronaviruses (CoVs) in Georgia, test key hypotheses about bat-borne zoonotic virus emergence risk within Western Asia, and test diagnostic samples through the use of standardized protocols and strict biosafety practices. As part of this project, Drs. Sidamonidze and Urushadze and their team have received training in best practices for bat sampling and biosafety (for additional details, see our discussion of ‘Field Training’ here), are actively capturing bats and collecting non-lethal diagnostic samples at multiple sites in Georgia, and are serving as one of two regional laboratories responsible for testing diagnostic samples collected through the project. Drs. Sidamonidze and Urushadze serve as invaluable members of WAB-Net, and are able to leverage their expertise on viral screening and characterization to improve our understanding of bat-borne viruses in Western Asia.

Bats of Georgia: (30 species)