SA bats to be trapped and checked

Adelaide's bats are being trapped, checked and released amid continued concerns over the spread of the deadly Hendra virus.

Grey-headed flying foxes in Adelaide's northeastern parklands will be trapped in nets, have blood samples taken and GPS tracking devices installed by University of Adelaide researchers over a two year-period.

"These bats can carry viruses including Hendra virus and Australian bat lyssavirus, which cause serious disease in horses and people," veterinarian Wayne Boardman said.

The bats first arrived in Adelaide from the eastern states in 2010 and the population has grown to about 2000.

While there have been no Hendra cases, Dr Boardman said it was important to understand what viruses they were carrying to better understand how diseases spread to other animals and humans.

"There are many unknowns about these bats. We don't know why they came to South Australia," he said.

"The black flying fox rather than the grey-headed flying fox is thought to be the source of (Hendra) cases in horses in NSW and Queensland, but we are not really sure."