ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the discovery that Ghana's bats hosted zoonotic pathogens revealed the many latent tensions between the preservation of human health and of wildlife, and militated against immediate public disclosure. Ghana is populated by several bat species. The migratory straw-coloured fruit bat roosts in extremely large colonies comprising several million inhabitants, in both urban and rural areas. Fruit bats have become iconic species in the unfolding drama of emerging zoonotic disease. Bats are sentinel creatures in the search for new viruses because they demonstrate extreme potential for zoonotic disease emergence, and are known reservoirs of multiple existing viruses. There are several Eidolon colonies in Ghana which are also eco-tourist sites. Ghana Wildlife Services are also concerned with conservation and it sees the bats as a species requiring protection. For Wildlife Services, bats are framed as providing critical ecosystem services.
