Bat White-Nose Syndrome: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen?

Publisher: USGS | Science Center: National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC, Madison) | Format: URL

www.nwhc.usgs.gov — 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 More... 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. This page links to resources related to WNS in bats, as well as links to a recent publication in Science Magazine by David Less...