‘Beware of the bat’: how a mine in Kigali became the focus of Marburg virus research

The Egyptian fruit bat is recognised as the principal animal reservoir for the Marburg virus and can infect humans who come into close contact. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

In a tin mine in a Kigali suburb, just 20 minutes’ drive from the heart of the Rwandan capital, the sounds of chittering and fluttering come from behind a padlocked door. It bears a sign: “Beware of the bat.”

The 10,000-strong bat colony in this tunnel harbours a deadly virus, and last year workers carried it out along with the rocks they mined.