ALERT - White Nose Bat Syndrome

White Nose Bat Syndrome (WNS)

From the US Fish and Wildlife Service: Hundreds of thousands of hibernating bats have died since New York Department of Environmental Conservation biologists documented white-nose syndrome west of Albany, N.Y., in early 2007. Biologists with state and federal agencies and organizations across the country are trying to find the answer to this deadly mystery. We have found sick, dying and dead bats in unprecedented numbers in and around caves and mines from Vermont to Virginia. In some hibernaculum, 90 to 100 percent of the bats are dying.While they are in the hibernaculum, affected bats often have white fungus on their muzzles and other parts of their bodies. They may have low body fat. These bats often move to cold parts of the hibernacula, fly during the day and during cold winter weather when the insects they feed upon are not available, and exhibit other uncharacteristic behavior. Despite the continuing search to find the source of this condition by numerous laboratories and state and federal biologists, the cause of the bat deaths remains unknown. Recent identification of a cold-loving fungus could be a step toward an answer.

From the US Geological Survey: The condition in bats known as 'white-nose syndrome' (WNS) was first noted among dead and hibernating bats found in caves near Albany, New York, by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation beginning in February 2007. Affected bats appeared to have a white substance on their heads and wings. In early 2008, “white-nosed” bats were once again seen in hibernaculae. Since March 2008, biologists and cavers have documented thousands of dead and dying bats at over 25 caves and mines in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

A Wildlife Disease Specialist from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) met with biologists in some affected areas in March 2008 and collected environmental samples from affected caves and mines in Vermont, New York and Massachusetts. Live, dead and dying bats were documented in and outside of their hibernacula.

Since February 2008, the NWHC has received nearly 100 bat carcasses, both euthanized and recently dead. Species include little brown, big brown, northern long-eared and eastern pipistrelle bats, and most of these bats have been from New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

The most common findings in the bats have been emaciation and poor body condition. Many of the bats examined had little or no body fat. A subset of the bats examined also exhibited changes in the lung that have been difficult to characterize. A majority of bats had microscopic fungal hyphae on the external surfaces of their bodies. The white substance observed on some bats may represent an overgrowth of normal fungal colonizers of bat skin during hibernation and could be an indicator of overall poor health, rather than a primary pathogen. Investigations into the cause of the morbidity, including underlying environmental factors, potential secondary microbial pathogens and/or toxicants, are underway.

Report WNS observations to your state conservation agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.



What can you do to minimize the chances of spreading WNS?

1. Geographic isolation of caving activity and/or gear: Cavers are requested to limit their caving activity to one caving area as defined by a county or group of counties. The designation of caving areas appears at the end of this document. We are asking this because sterilization procedures are likely not 100% effective, especially since neither the specific causal agent nor mode of transmission has yet been definitively identified. Cavers choosing to cave in more than one of the defined caving areas are asked to dedicate a specific set of clothing and caving gear for each respective caving area. If you must go caving in multiple areas, complete disinfection of vehicles is recommended between trips to different areas. Special care should be taken to segregate any cave clothing and equipment dedicated for use in a given area from all other sets of clothing and equipment dedicated for use in other caving areas.

2. Strict adherence to decontamination procedures when moving between caves (even within the same geographically designated area). After exiting one cave and prior to entering another cave, even within a designated caving area, decontamination practices as outlined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be strictly adhered to. ALL equipment must be cleaned! These procedures are posted at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/whitenosemessage.html#containment To reduce the risk of harboring or carrying the disease on their persons, cavers should thoroughly clean and scrub themselves with soap and hot water following each trip to each cave. All clothes worn while traveling to and from the caving area should be laundered as soon as possible following caving trips.

For more information on White Nose Bat Syndrome, please visit the following links:

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/karsthome.shtml

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/2008%20Summer%20Protocols_15May2008b.pdf

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/WNSrecommendations.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/white-nosefaqs.pdf

http://www.caves.org/WNS/WNS2009research.pdf