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It wouldn’t be surprising, given that many viruses have been linked to bats, including the Ebola, Marburg, Nipah and Hendra viruses, as well as coronaviruses like SARS-1 and MERS.

“The volcanic earthquakes are still intense so there is a potential for a future eruption,” Hendra Gunawan, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.

Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, Nipah, Hendra and possibly Ebola have all fatally spilled over from bats to humans, sometimes through an intermediate host.

Those papers -- about how bats can spread fatal Hendra virus to horses and people -- explained that when bats lose their natural habitats and winter food sources, their large populations splinter and they migrate in small groups to agricultural and urban areas.

Mr Hendra is now technical director at Genous, a firm that gives advice to homeowners on how to make their properties more energy efficient.