it is pulling girls who could ever know for sure that it was our studio we're going . in support of. what's a view what's a box. to believe that. on the hunt for deadly viruses. yes with a baton to us that. they're aimed is to prevent the next catastrophe. that's carry a lot of viruses that could trigger can democrats get. pandemics of which we humans are the cause. because of our destruction of the environment humans are moving ever closer to wild animals such. can cut down half the rainforest and they'll still be

enough left. people who are campaigning to protect the rain forest. and for biodiversity. are helping to prevent new pandemics. cut. how can we humans destroy a living forest hundreds of years old with a chain so much of a hell of a. time we are in the brazilian amazon region with a group of virus hunters they're tracking down invisible killer pathogens in the jungle.

our 1st trip takes us deep into the hinterland of sol paolo state. it's the region of sugarcane plantations trucks passes by carrying this week harvest. in the dusk we spot a ringtail coati. we are out with biologist cristiana car viola and his team in the few remaining strips of the atlantic rain forest he's looking for the hiding places of bats he thinks he has located some in these water pipes where he heard the sound of wings flapping inside. indeed there is a colony of bats dozens of them are living here in the cracks and crevices of the pipes. for us and one that i'm specialized in seeking out the hideaways of bats you know regions like these close to agricultural land that's all mostly i find them in trees or like here in water pipes and. about experts

work begins shortly before dusk he spends a net over the entrance and the back hunt is on. a problem there but it was only. one other than that my lifetime of this is we're working with these animals to find out how far the various viruses have spread. so i just think it's part of our scientific work to find out which bats are carrying which viruses think that one of their abilities was sure of it. now in the times of corona virus everyone needs to wear protective clothing to prevent a transmission of the virus chiroptera the scientific name for bats have been christiane knows passion for 26 years. he wants to lure them from the back of the pipe into the net.

it's amazing how quickly he succeeds. christiane no has to painstakingly untangle the animal from the net for him it's a routine procedure after his many patents by the one that. he hands over the bats he has caught 2 viral adjust angelica compost who neatly hangs them up in fabric sacks. i love it that he wanted those movies it's only since this year that i blog worldwide has been noticing that bats carrying numerous viruses which can be transmitted to humans and trigger pandemics is when you. think the out because i couldn't believe me and that's why researchers are now looking more closely on precisely to find out which viruses are being carried in

each individual animal the bats are not afraid to bite so they wear thick globs. anjelica take samples out of the throats and digestive tracts of the bats places where the corona virus likes to settle for less so i think we've been expecting a coronavirus pandemic for years but hoping that we would be wrong thinking thought i got along. well they keep finding new previously unknown viruses in the feces of the bats wall. but everyone with no work we want to prevent another pandemic from breaking out. we're hunting for new dangerous times of viruses or trying at least to limit them. if it's a radical. cording to estimates there are more than 300000 unknown pathogens in the world's jungles mostly hidden in the bodies of mammals such as bats or

rodents as monas the rainforest stays intact the viruses and bacteria pose no threat to humans when humans and their livestock get too close to wild animals the viruses can be transmitted to cattle pigs or humans and become deadly the virus hunters want to find out which pathogens are a threat to humans. the bats samples have to be kept in at minus 80 degrees celsius on their way to the laboratory to keep the virus code intact. because this is sort of august. well it. for our work it's important to get as many samples from the bats as possible that you my also we can identify the many tons of virus circulating in the population might you use that to look at the one who should that's are more interesting for researchers than other mammals as they carry an unusually high number of viruses. to fulfill we can think of

bats as i kind of virus storage now the pathogens stay in their bodies far away from us humans can demick surprise when humans encroach on the natural territory of the bats and upset the balance of nature where the viruses exist they will feed the researchers show us what they mean on their way to the south palo laboratory with their freezer box. due to the sugarcane monoculture here the hanta virus has spread rapidly it's transmitted by rat droppings the hantavirus is not dangerous for the rodents but for humans every 2nd case of infection leads to death according to researchers the hanta virus started spreading rapidly after the jungle was cleared for the monoculture. and. in the 1970 s. brazil began building roads through the impenetrable amazon rain forest with their

trans amazonian highway the military dictatorship laid the foundation for the massive deforestation we see today. agriculture has bestowed prosperity upon many regions at the cost of the rain forest more and more railway lines on highways cut through the amazon region. every year fires ravage more swaths of rain forest they are usually started by farmers wanting to increase the size of their fields. we are on the trans amazonian highway on our way to an indigenous reserve we see traces of slash and burn farming on all sides now when the dry season smoke lingers over vast stretches of the countryside. president. won 60 percent of the votes in this region of the brazilian state of pot out in his election campaign he promised to free up the

reserves of the indigenous peoples for deforestation and to support the many local cattle breeders. when we reach the reserve we see an illegal settlement. the collection of huts is called a villa arena say or the place of rebirth. it looks like a piece out of the wild west and indeed it is. miller in a sarah stands on a piece of indigenous land protected by the constitution this fact was confirmed by civil servants who also told us that they are powerless against the illegal squatters are not allowed to give interviews but one person agrees to speak to us. as they cook from an entirely different region who move to villa or in a say or a year ago our restaurant of all it's a well this place is growing are there many workers here they want to buy land that

yes many brazilians come from far away and stake out a piece of land to work. next i think that i think it must be worthwhile that antoinette and her husband barito are frustrated neither of them has ever learned to read or write and they don't understand why the state sees them as illegal squatters or not they are if in me we have no nurse here who could take care of us. she's not allowed to come here because our settlement is a legal document of the. the politicians come here to get our votes but so far no one has helped us to get a legal title as landowners are that good about both of you government. barito shows us his building site next door where a new larger restaurant is planned they have just laid the foundation for the floor tiles. and tonight

a is hoping for good business in spite of everything in spite of the authorities say this is indigenous territory but the old people say there have never been any indigenous people here still the state won't give us this land. are they right so i'm not sure after. all how is it. we hope that we can soon be the legal owners of this land then we can work here with a clear conscience. because this nation you don't see yourselves as illegal that we purser here said fear me the. buildings are going up everywhere the craft workers are just putting up walls for an evangelical free church it is the 6th in the settlement. in just 2 years the settlement has grown to around 2000 people. for years the squatter spokesman has been fighting for legalisation in court in his

view the indigenous reserve is too big he demands that it be reduced in size. to deal when i look up for you the indigenous people have traditionally never lived on this land so what is commercial that's why we demand that the reports justifying the reserve should be checked again why don't we just want everything to be done truthfully began to our very bad. the squatters moyer's have managed to get the status of the reserve reevaluation. think you can to get to them as soon as you should destroy you. i have to understand that the people living here in the amazon want to survive that has to be possible on a slant thought of you. this is also how costa sees it he runs the corner shop until around a serac he's hoping the size of the reserve will be cut. short his fellow got into if they legalize our place then everything will be fine. there's so much wealth in

this earth. wrong materials which ones a lot of gold and more. were hanging in there to see what happens. shortly afterward leonardo i.r.s. arrives he lives near the gold mines and complains about the latest raid by the state controller's. doesn't that also get his way i have no idea whether the raid was legal or not they came to my house and set it on fire then they left again i couldn't do anything. he's talking about an operation by brazilian environmental police against the illegal gold diggers in the reserves. not only are the criminals destroying the rain forest and poisoning the ground with mercury but they are also bringing the new coronavirus into the indigenous region. in environmental police destroyed excavators and pumps on videos taken on their mobile

phones gold diggers complained about the rate. of the government and the environment minister promised us that we could look for gold in the indigenous areas i that's why we expect our workers gold diggers to be legalized but we're going to carry on until then we start looking. thanks to the gold diggers shop owner is doing well in his business. but if it were up to him he would be doing even better. lindo really the best thing the government could do is to legalize our area and improve the streets so i can do more business protocell approach that would be great if. it's better can foster. a jeep has stopped outside from the load in the back it's obvious what this man is planning after picking up some groceries he drives directly into the reserve with

his workers the group clearly has an eye on rain forest timber. and. the fact is by destroying the rain forest of the indigenous peoples the squatters without realizing it are increasing the risk of a pandemic. brazil's indigenous people are fighting against the economic exploitation of the rainforest their instincts tell them that economic progress also brings disadvantages. but then we're not just demanding better health care in the pandemic but to close this road too because we are demonstrating against the planned railway tracks it will be of no good. mostly protests like this have no effect since and

intact rainforest as a buffer zone against dangerous viruses cannot be exploited for economic gain. german although rado thinks differently ever since he can remember he has lived in and from the amazon rain forest german knows every plant and the significance of each one. this liana vine which grows upwards out of the ground contains drinking water as well. q. on every plant and every living creature in the jungle has its own purpose such as the milky resin of a palm tree which can help to heal wounds. the forest is like a pharmacy and. we can find everything

here. medicine and remedies simply everything. on the intact rain forest has become his wife a hood for 10 years he's been operating a lodge on the edge of the conservation area. at the moment most of his huts are empty the coronavirus pandemic has brought sustainable tourism to a standstill. the march was always fully booked and is particularly popular with tourists from europe who want to vacation in the jungle now your man and his wife are worried about their livelihood they have ploughed all their savings into this business. for. grilled amazon river fish like town bookkeeping are the specialty of chairman and his wife but their large was closed for 6 months and business is still smug.

well i think that in a few months tourists will come again from europe everything depends on the vaccine until it exists no one will be able to travel with confidence still they don't want to give up. the 1st guest since the reopening have just appeared a couple from sao paolo this region has so far been spared from raging fires and gold diggers ripping up the ground. or villages that the my luckily our regional government takes care of protected areas such as ours here so there's not as much deforestation. but other amazon regions have been destroyed the deforestation will have negative consequences for assuming one day will be some of the neighbors are going to say. the north has only one game show me.

just at the university campus of san paolo for researching these consequences for years they've been warning of a ticking time bomb in the form of wild animals encountering humans more often due to the sweeping fires and deforestation of the lever brought after every fire more animals graze at the edges of the rain forest. that's where the viruses can be transmitted to cattle and the viruses adapt to their new host later on we humans can catch them this worries me deeply. researchers had also warned of an outbreak of a novel coronavirus but those in power ignored the signals sent by scientists. figures mange both use a knife unfortunately none of the studies were taken seriously good of they had

shown new coronaviruses in bats since 2013 results with me. these yahoos they fear also are warnings that these coronaviruses could mutate and be transmitted to humans did not lead to the necessary measures being taken as a core reason for so very much for. their analysis of bad feces and in trails shows nothing this time. they find the rabies virus but there are no novel coronavirus is or other dangerous pathogens. it is basic research which only costs a little money but still funding was recently cut. and lost from them. it's extremely difficult to get funding for our kind of research now during the pandemic it has been a little easier for with. equality but is was the virus crisis is over

our financial worries will return i'm not very optimistic. about hunters will continue their search in spite of adversity even if it's frustrating in brazil at the moment. with all the death of sean all full of buffalo bill i'm disappointed that how government hardly ever listens to the scientists. they're always arguing with the research is. girl no more all we can do is to fight back and try to keep hold of the objectives of our research. for the virus hunters is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. in the amazon metropolis of menow us researchers are trying to get fire risk is under control using pragmatic means show akim court tennis is preparing fly traps in the

state run institute for your crews insecticide is placed. around the edges of a bucket it's a new method they've been trying for 3 years. when the mosquitoes lay their larva in the bucket the poison sticks to that and the mosquitoes spread the insecticide to many other places altogether. it's a simple principle which is now used everywhere in manassas courthouse and his team drive out to the neighborhoods on the edge of the city where the mosquitoes are a particular nuisance they carry dengue fever which is rife here at the moment there is a monthly check of private households the researchers have placed their prepared buckets here as in this kitchen in the backyard. the old buckets have to be replaced. get to

the super 14 the mosquitoes love dark places. like under tables or in corners or. it doesn't take long for the new trap to be ready for action against the virus carrying mosquitoes. special about this is that the musky toes themselves spread the poison from these poles to other places that we can't even reach lower. shortly afterward they perform a test with a mosquito vacuum. there are no mosquitoes found in the cracks and crevices so the traps obviously work the residents confirm this they notice that there are fewer mosquitoes than before. them at the gym i was always afraid of these diseases malaria or yellow fever until now there are many neighbors who don't take care they don't clear out of water so the mosquitoes reproduce there and we all suffer from

that killing is the will of the. mosquitoes spreading viruses are still a problem in manassas due to the many open sores and cesspits then there's the rapid expansion of the city slums are developing where once there was rain forest people are coming ever closer to the viruses hidden in the wilderness the development seems irreversible and is fueled by the flourishing industry of. the researchers from the few cruise institute are alarmed whenever the settlements encroach on the wilderness the risk increases that a new virus could be transmitted to humans. but the music will normally cause the whole structure of the economy has to change so that we have to explain to everyone that the rain forest is more useful to us if we don't cut it down if you do about. all of the researchers we need to share this view as do the biologists and vets at the refuge station for wild animals in man hours. animals discovered during raids

or which show mysterious diseases are kept in these cages. biologist alessandro non-biased is creating a young female jaguar before she inspects the most recent arrivals with her colleagues. this undernourished pod tamarin monkeys was recently brought to the refuge the vets and nesta ties it so they can examine it it's. out. there. the tamarin is pretty groggy already but it's still hanging on to see would it feel. that. it's time for the examination of the wounds are visible on its feet the researchers

seem worried that ensured suspend the body it seems to be something contagious but we can only say for sure after the examination whether the monkey is suffering from a virus bacteria or a fungal infection as well to. leave the samples are taken of the skin and fur and then saliva. if you should use their skin which you must hear me the illness seems pretty complex. we. i don't know exactly why the animal has lost so much weight but figured that if not tomorrow it could be bacteria attacking the immune system so here's all. a new virus which is circulating in this region that is really. going.

to be on the safe side this monkey samples will be sent to a special lab to compare them with other different types of viruses from around the world as a virus hunter one thing you need is patience. this is a vital because it is viewed as most of the novel virus as we find do not cause illness and have not been transmitted to humans and. you cannot as is the mental but they could mutate at any time. i was inside because it is so much of you know i'm equal especially if we carry on as we're doing now say the researchers has put us in the family does the amazon region is disappearing that is this is bound to have consequences for global health coverage in the medium and long term we will experience new diseases being transmitted from animals to humans in the days as it makes it sound so knowledge. scientists warn that the next pandemic could come from the amazon region it is simply

a question of trying. to fight it out or afford it the only thing that could prevent it is a radical change in our lifestyle but this is currently not foreseeable. i'm worried about the way we treat the forest. for the trees all support life and they are ancient. how can people destroy them and within minutes with a chainsaw on our market. rain forest destruction may well be releasing viruses which would otherwise never reach humans the researchers have never heard of a pandemic spreading inside the jungle. after

6 match days they're on top again a. whimsical putting it at the top of the table. after 6 match days empty handed. the bottom of the table no points no. 30 minutes on d w. this

is d w news coming to life for alleged terror strikes the heart of the up people flee after a gunman attack after gunmen attacked 6 locations near a synagogue in the city center 4 people are dead. including one of the assailants police are hunting for one or more attackers believed to be still it. also coming up one of the most polarized campaigns in u.s. history draws to a close with the early voter turnout surging to the presidential level in the final pitch to voters donald trump predicts for.