The number of hair cells in the inner ear of many mammals, including humans and mice, declines with age, and this is the major reason for hearing loss in humans and other mammals. Not so with bats. Bats are relatively long-lived mammals and use their sense of hearing immensly, so there might be a genetic adaptation that allows bats to regenerate hair cells into old age. No other mammal is known to do that. Our Brown bat can live for up to 30 years.
All mammals can carry rabies.
And all mammals have been known to carry rabies. Squirrels and skunks and fox come next, bats bring up the rear. Another disease, Raccoon roundworm , can also infect other species, bats included, but is more commonly seen in mice, squirrels, rabbits, birds, woodchucks. It can even infect humans and can cause blindness and even death. In the event of the death of the human, larvae can be detected in microscopic sections of the brain, heart, lungs, eyes and other affected tissues.