Low-tech approach stifles high-risk Nipah virus

Shielding palm-tree sap from fruit bats may limit spread of deadly disease

WASHINGTON — Simple bamboo skirts attached to date palms can protect the trees’ tasty sap from contamination by fruit bats. In so doing, the low-tech devices may prevent the spread of lethal Nipah virus, researchers in Bangladesh report at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.