Global research trends on bats and One-Health: A systematic review

Abstract

Bats play a crucial role in the health triad as key players in ecosystems and reservoirs of various pathogens. The study of bats and health requires a comprehensive approach such as One Health to address the various aspects of their impact on health in an interdisciplinary manner. Here, we present a systematic review and a bibliometric analysis with the aim of analysing the current state of knowledge on the interaction between bats, humans, animals, and environment under the context of “One Health” concept. We conducted our systematic review following the PRISMA reporting guidelines and assessed 386 articles published between 2009 and 2023. Many researchers adopted an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, with 29.1% of international co-authorships and an average degree of collaboration between authors of 46.9. Thematic analysis highlighted the prevalence of studies on zoonoses and public health, and a gap in the inclusion of topics from the social and environmental context. Publications are biased towards viruses [coronaviruses (35%), paramyxoviruses (21%), and lyssaviruses (17%)], whereas other aspects related to the ecology of bat species or their social and economic impact are barely addressed. This is particularly notable in countries with a high diversity of bats. This represents an opportunity for scientifically capable nations to establish connections that will allow the development of representative research. It definitely is necessary to improve the interdisciplinarity between biologists, ecologists, medicine doctors, and veterinarians to apply the One Health concept in bat studies.