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North American Bat Death Toll Exceeds 6 Million From White-nose Syndrome

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  • #46
    Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands

    The disease has made it's way to Canada...
    Source: http://www.thespec.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/740241

    Bats in Ontario found to have deadly disease

    March 20, 2010
    The Canadian Press
    TORONTO (Mar 20, 2010)

    A mysterious illness that has killed upwards of 500,000 bats in the northeastern United States has now been detected in the animals in Ontario.

    The Ministry of Natural Resources is confirming the first case of bats with a disease known as white-nose syndrome in the Bancroft-Minden area...

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands

      Originally posted by tropical View Post
      /snip/
      This sentence:
      #48:
      "have tested positive for the highly contagious white-nose syndrome"

      seems to confirm that the infection came from the fungus itself?
      The fungus is associated with the syndrome (loss of body weight, abnormal breaks in hibernation that cause the bats to be active in times of no food, mass colony die-offs, etc.) but is not known to be causitive. So far, no causitive agent has been identified.

      They apparently use the term 'contagious' loosely due to the rapid geographic spread of the syndrome.
      Last edited by Farmer; March 25, 2010, 11:16 AM. Reason: typo
      Separate the wheat from the chaff

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands

        WHITE NOSE SYNDROME BATS - USA (05): (NEW YORK) POSSIBLE TREATMENT
        ************************************************** ****************

        Date: 22 Mar 2010

        Source: Science News



        Athlete's foot therapy tapped to treat bat-killing fungus
        ---------------------------------------------------------
        Over the past 4 years, a mysterious white-nose fungus [responsible
        for the White Nose Syndrome (WNS) - Mod.TG] has struck hibernating
        North American bats. Populations in affected caves and mines can
        experience death rates of more than 80 percent over a winter. In
        desperation, an informal interagency task force of scientists from
        state and federal agencies has just launched an experimental program
        to fight the plague. Their weapon: a drug ordinarily used to treat
        athlete's foot.

        John Eisemann of the Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health
        Inspection Service, better known as APHIS, in Fort Collins, Colorado,
        mentioned the new program during his talk, here, at the American
        Chemical Society's spring national meeting. He was describing legal
        tactics by which wildlife officials can thwart invasive vertebrate
        species with off-the-shelf chemicals.

        He noted, for instance, how scientists have used a contraceptive
        vaccine -- one designed to control white-tail deer populations -- on
        rodents. It offered a nonlethal approach to reining in the population
        explosion of non-native fox squirrels on a University of California
        campus. In another instance, wildlife managers employed a cholesterol
        inhibiting drug to reduce sex hormone levels -- and the urge to
        reproduce -- among invasive monk parakeets. And on Guam, Eisemann's
        team designed special traps baited with neonatal mouse carcasses.
        Each bait had been implanted with a child's dose of acetaminophen,
        the active ingredient in Tylenol. It proved amazingly effective in
        strategically poisoning a major scourge, invasive brown tree snakes
        -- and only that species.

        The bat task force enlisted Eisemann's help to make sure that
        whatever they tried would be legal. He's the go-to guy for
        identifying what permissions, waivers or requests are required before
        wildlife managers can apply poisons or anti-fertility drugs. The Food
        and Drug Administration allows for some off-label use of an existing
        drug as a veterinary prescription. And that's the tactic he arranged
        for the task force to use with the athlete's foot drug.

        Theoretically, Eisemann says, it should have been possible for
        scientists to apply to get the chemical officially registered -- as
        in approved -- for use on bats. But with the disease spreading like
        wildfire and the potential market for a white-nose therapeutic tiny,
        the time and expense didn't seem feasible.

        Afraid of upsetting the ecological balance of endemic fungi in caves,
        the scientists decided to pilot test the program in already perturbed
        and disturbed environments -- a few mines in upstate New York.
        Earlier this year, the researchers applied the antifungal medicine
        onto the noses of several hundred bats. It killed the fungus,
        Eisemann says. Now the goal is to see if and how it might have
        affected the treated colonies' die-off rate, since only a small share
        of any population had their noses rubbed with the antifungal drug.


        Indeed, the scientists are hoping they might not need to treat the
        entire colony. "If there's enough communal grooming," Eisemann said,
        "they may only need to treat a certain percentage of the bats."

        [Byline: Janet Raloff]



        [While there still seem to be many unknowns, it looks like there may
        be a glimmer of hope to control this disease that is having such an
        impact on the bat populations. - Mod.TG]


        ?Addressing chronic disease is an issue of human rights ? that must be our call to arms"
        Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief The Lancet

        ~~~~ Twitter:@GertvanderHoek ~~~ GertvanderHoek@gmail.com ~~~

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

          Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...ent_of_nj.html

          Fungus kills 90 percent of N.J. bat population, scientists say
          By The Associated Press
          April 03, 2010, 1:45PM

          HACKENSACK ? A fungus has killed off about 90 percent of the state's bat population, according to scientists who recently conducted a count of hibernating bats.

          The devastation was shocking in the largest hibernation spot for bats in New Jersey ? Morris County's Hibernia Mine. As many as 30,000 bats normally spend the winter, but a recent count found only about 1,700 alive ? and many of those showed signs of infection, said Mick Valent, principal zoologist with the state's Endangered and Non-game Species Program.

          "The results we had from Hibernia Mine were certainly not good news," Valent said...

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

            Just read that on the west coast there is a fungal epidemic affecting Douglas fir trees. The article relates it to climate change plus the planting of the species in monocultures by the timber industry. There are environmental concerns in using fungicides, so they may alter tree farming practices in response.
            http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0405152557.htm
            Forests at Risk: Swiss Needle Cast Epidemic in Douglas-Fir Trees Unprecedented, Still Getting Worse

            ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2010) ? The Swiss needle cast epidemic in Douglas-fir forests of the coastal Pacific Northwest is continuing to intensify, appears to be unprecedented over at least the past 100 years, and is probably linked to the extensive planting of Douglas-fir along the coast and a warmer climate, new research concludes.

            Scientists in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University have also found that this disease, which is affecting hundreds of thousands of acres in Oregon and Washington and costing tens of millions of dollars a year in lost growth, can affect older trees as well as young stands -- in some cases causing their growth to almost grind to a halt.

            The newest findings were just published in Forest Ecology and Management, a professional journal.

            Swiss needle cast is a native fungal disease specific to Douglas-fir that was first described in Europe. It rarely kills trees but causes discoloration, loss of needles and growth reduction, and is common in the Pacific Northwest wherever Douglas-fir grows. However, it caused significant problems only in recent decades along the coast.

            Starting in 1984, an epidemic began to develop, and it significantly worsened after 1996.

            "It's now clear that this epidemic is a new phenomenon, with far more severity and impact than anything we've observed from Swiss needle cast in the past," said Dave Shaw, an assistant professor at OSU and director of a cooperative designed to fight this disease. "We've known of this disease for decades but it was considered a non-issue in terms of forest health. A perfect storm of conditions that favor this fungus has caused a major epidemic that is still growing."............
            Since some bats are resistant to the fungus, I wonder if it might be best to let the others die off without fungicide intervention? I suppose that could create an evolutionary bottleneck which happened with the Tasmanian Devil, and that is thought to have made them vulnerable to the transmissible cancer. (Dogs are the other species that has a transmissible cancer, and they have been highly inbred, or their ancestors might have had a genetic bottleneck that spawned that cancer when a population was dramatically reduced by natural factors.)
            _____________________________________________

            Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

            i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

            "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

            (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
            Never forget Excalibur.

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

              Source: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/Art...aspx?e=2528217

              Bat ailment found in Flesherton (Ontario, Canada)
              Posted By Don Crosby
              Posted 7 hours ago


              Grey County has been invaded by a rare fungus linked to the death of more than a million bats in the northeastern United States.

              Evidence was uncovered in four dead bats found near Flesherton in early March.

              The fungus itself doesn't kill bats, but it is believed to be linked to what is called white nose syndrome, which leaves the bats looking like their snouts have been dusted with flour. The cause of death is still unknown...

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                Source: http://www.theenterprisebulletin.com...aspx?e=2532805

                MNR keeping eye on spread of bat disease (Ontario, Canada)
                Posted By
                Posted 0 sec ago


                Bats can eat up to three times their body weight each night.

                White nose syndrome was first discovered in bats in Albany, N.Y. in the winter of 2006 and has since spread to 11 states. It typically kills between 80% and 99% of the bats in a hibernation area.

                Of the eight species of bats in Ontario, white nose syndrome affects the five cave-dwelling species that hibernate during the winter. The little brown bat appears to be the most susceptible.

                The remaining three species are migratory bats that spend the winter in Central and South America.

                "The three species that migrate aren't known to be affected by white nose syndrome," said Dungavell.

                The fungus is thought to be native to Europe where it's found among the bat population but isn't linked to deaths...

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                  Source: http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15...-is-bleak.html

                  Outlook for Connecticut?s bats is bleak

                  Written by Dennis Schain
                  Tuesday, 20 April 2010 09:28

                  Snip:

                  ...Jenny Dickson, DEP Supervising wildlife biologist, said, ?White Nose Syndrome continues to have a catastrophic effect on bats. Just three short years ago, one of Connecticut?s largest hibernacula had over 3,300 wintering bats. This year fewer than a dozen remain ? all but one showed active signs of WNS. The outlook for their survival is grim.?

                  The DEP says visits to other winter hibernacula ? caves and mines where bats hibernate ? revealed similar mortality rates. Another large site showed a 95% decline in bat numbers since a winter count in 2007. The only positive note from the 2010 surveys was that only three of the remaining bats at that site showed visible signs of the fungus.

                  Ms. Dickson also noted that WNS continues to take a devastating toll in the nearby states of New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont, where a significant percentage of the state?s bat population hibernates for the winter....

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                    Source: http://wjz.com/wireapnewsmd/Fungus.a...2.1666689.html

                    Apr 30, 2010 12:42 pm US/Eastern
                    Bat Fungus Found In Delaware
                    DOVER, Del. (AP) ― State wildlife officials says a fungus associated with a disease fatal to bats has been found in Delaware...
                    ...Officials said Friday that the fungus has been found at two summer roosting site in New Castle County...

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                      "Fungus that is fatal to bats foils cave lovers in Missouri

                      Caves in most Missouri state parks will be closed for at least a few months to try to curb a fungus that has killed more than 1 million bats...

                      The state park system?s four major tour caves that will remain open are Onondaga Cave and Cathedral Cave at Onondaga Cave State Park, Fisher Cave at Meramec State Park, and Ozark Caverns at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, DNR officials said....

                      After discovering the fungus-infected bat last month, the Missouri Department of Conservation closed its more than 240 caves that already had limited entry. A year ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, anticipating the advancing fungus, ordered its Mark Twain National Forest caves closed..."

                      Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/05...#ixzz0n9zLQ064

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                        "After discovering the fungus-infected bat last month, the Missouri Department of Conservation closed its more than 240 caves that already had limited entry. A year ago, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, anticipating the advancing fungus, ordered its Mark Twain National Forest caves closed...""


                        complete impotence of today's hightech human scientific biotechs to treat or prevent an animal fungal disease one year after ...

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                          Now reported in Oklahoma and Missouri.


                          Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 17:04:48 -0400 (EDT)
                          From: ProMED-mail <promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu>
                          Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> White nose syndrome, bats - USA (09): (OK, MO)

                          WHITE NOSE SYNDROME, BATS - USA (09): (OKLAHOMA, MISSOURI)
                          ***********************************************
                          A ProMED-mail post
                          <http://www.promedmail.org>
                          ProMED-mail is a program of the
                          International Society for Infectious Diseases
                          <http://www.isid.org>

                          In this update:
                          [1] Oklahoma
                          [2] Oklahoma
                          [3] Missouri

                          [The following messages were forwarded to ProMED by Angie McIntire of
                          the Arizona Game & Fish Department, <AMcIntire@azgfd.gov>. - Mod.MHJ]

                          ******
                          [1] Oklahoma
                          Date: 14 May 2010
                          From: Richard Stark


                          A cave myotis _Myotis velifer_ collected from the James Selman Cave
                          system in Woodward County, Oklahoma, has tested POSITIVE for
                          _Geomyces destructans_. _G. destructans_ is the fungus associated
                          with white-nose syndrome. Anne Ballman, a Wildlife Disease Specialist
                          with the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, WI just
                          called to notify me. The bat was collected by a graduate student
                          working for the Oklahoma Biological Survey on 3 May 2010.

                          The lab initially ran a PCR test which was positive for _G.
                          destructans_. Follow-up genetic sequencing confirmed the find is a
                          100 percent match for _G. destructans_. However, the pattern of
                          infection was not consistent with white-nose syndrome observed on
                          bats from the eastern U.S., nor were characteristic conidia observed
                          to assist in identifying the fungus observed. This means that the bat
                          is harboring the _G. destructans_ fungus, but should only be
                          considered "suspect positive" for WNS. The cave will now be
                          considered contaminated with the _G. destructans_ fungus. We will
                          need to communicate this finding with our partners to ensure that the
                          cave is closed to human visitation.

                          This is the 1st known record of _G. destructans_ in Region 2. This is
                          an extremely interesting find because _Myotis velifer_ is not known
                          from the eastern United States
                          (<http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/image_info.cfm?species_id=203>).

                          - --
                          Richard Stark
                          Fish and Wildlife Biologist
                          U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
                          Oklahoma Ecological Services
                          9014 East 21st Street
                          Tulsa, OK 74129
                          <http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma>

                          [To find the James Selman Cave system, go to:
                          <http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/BatWatchWeb/Directions.html>. - Mod.MHJ]

                          ******
                          [2] Oklahoma
                          Date: 14 May 2010
                          From: Dixie Birch


                          Richard Hatcher is the Director of the Oklahoma Department of
                          Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), and we just spoke about closing the
                          cave to public access and possibly issuing a joint press release
                          early next week. Mr. Hatcher tells me that the cave is not generally
                          open to the public.

                          This situation has a number of unusual circumstances associated with
                          it. 1st, this is the 1st detection of possible WNS in the cave myotis
                          species. It is the 1st detection of possible WNS in Region 2 or in
                          Oklahoma, and this represents the most western detection of WNS in
                          the United States. This raises concerns for other bat species
                          throughout the states in Region 2. Richard Stark provides a link
                          above that will show you the range of cave myotis.

                          We believe that this makes the 13th state where WNS has been found in
                          the United States.

                          - --
                          Dixie L. Birch, Ph.D.
                          Field Supervisor/Project Leader
                          Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office
                          9014 E. 21st Street
                          Tulsa, OK 74129
                          <dixie_birch@fws.gov>


                          ******
                          [3] Missouri
                          Date: 14 May 2010
                          From: Dena Matteson


                          Officials at Ozark National Scenic Riverways have announced the
                          closure of all caves in the park effective immediately. On 2 May
                          2010, bat researchers from Missouri State University found an
                          infectious fungus in 5 gray bats netted just outside a cave in
                          Shannon County, Missouri. The bats tested positive in a genetics test
                          for the _Geomyces destructans_ fungus, which causes White-Nose
                          Syndrome (WNS). Scars on their wings were a clue that the bats
                          probably were infected over the winter, when the fungus grows on the
                          bats' faces and skin during hibernation. The cool, damp conditions in
                          many caves provide an environment in which the fungus thrives.

                          WNS is a serious disease that has been responsible for the deaths of
                          over one million bats since its discovery in New York in 2006. The
                          1st occurrence in Missouri, the 12th state to document the disease,
                          was discovered in Pike County in April 2010. Six bat species were
                          known to be vulnerable, but the recent find is the 1st known case in
                          Shannon County and the 1st case in the federally endangered gray bat.

                          The westward spread of WNS is believed to occur primarily through
                          bat-to-bat contact but might also be transmitted on the clothes and
                          gear of humans who have visited an infected cave. Closing bat caves
                          to human entry reduces human disturbance of bats, which exacerbates
                          the mortality rate caused by WNS, and reduces the risk of possible
                          human-borne transmission. WNS does not infect other animals or humans.

                          The 4 biologists who discovered the infected bats are graduate
                          students supervised by Dr. Lynn Robbins at Missouri State University
                          and are conducting a bat research project supported by a grant from
                          the National Park Service. They had obtained netting permits from the
                          Missouri Department of Conservation, National Park Service, and U.S.
                          Fish and Wildlife Service for that purpose.

                          The cave, owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation, is on the
                          Current River within the boundaries of Ozark National Scenic
                          Riverways. The name and location are withheld to avoid disturbance of
                          the cave, which contains many natural resources and several species
                          of bats. A cave gate on the entrance prevents trespassers from entering.

                          Ozark Riverways protects over 300 caves within its boundaries. Access
                          to several of these has previously been restricted in order to
                          protect fragile resources and ecosystems. Due to WNS, the park is
                          exercising caution in managing activities that impact caves and bats.
                          Park Superintendent Reed Detring has determined that WNS is an
                          imminent threat to the cave bats in the park, and every effort should
                          be made to prevent or slow its spread.

                          The park is asking visitors to observe all closures and to avoid
                          other caves or passages of caves that may contain hibernating
                          populations of bats.

                          Round Spring Caverns will remain open to public tours at this time,
                          although the park will implement screening measures and precautions
                          designed to reduce the risk of human transmission of WNS. Visitors
                          should decontaminate all clothing, footwear, and gear upon exiting
                          any cave in order to reduce the possibility of transmitting the
                          disease. For more information regarding decontamination of clothing
                          and cave gear, please visit:
                          <http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html>,
                          <http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html>.

                          According to Detring, this new policy will be reviewed regularly as
                          new information about the spread of WNS becomes available. "The
                          park's biologists have been working diligently to gather information
                          about WNS since its discovery and to assess the cave resources at
                          Ozark Riverways. We are using the best scientific data at hand to
                          make decisions about our future management actions in this situation.
                          We will continue to gather information and cooperate with other
                          entities in order to protect these valuable resources."

                          The discovery of WNS in Missouri, a state with more than 6300 caves,
                          is troubling to the state's leading cave resource experts. "Missouri
                          is home to at least 12 species of bats," explained Missouri
                          Department of Conservation Cave Biologist Bill Elliott. "They are our
                          front-line defense against many insect pests including some moths,
                          certain beetles and mosquitoes. Insect pests can cause extensive
                          forest and agricultural damage. Missouri's 775 000 gray bats alone
                          eat more than 223 billion bugs a year, or about 540 tons. They also
                          play a vital role in cave ecosystems, providing nutrients for other
                          cave life through their droppings, or guano, and are food for other
                          animals such as snakes and owls."

                          The National Park Service will join other resource agencies in June
                          2010 to begin work on a comprehensive Statewide White-Nose Syndrome
                          Action Plan to address management of this issue.

                          - --
                          Communicated by:
                          Angela McIntire <AMcIntire@azgfd.gov>

                          [Our thanks to Angie. Members are encouraged to visit the White Nose
                          Syndrome Page: <http://www.caves.org/WNS/>.

                          To find Shannon County, in SE OK, go to:
                          <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/missouri.gif>.
                          Ozark National; Scenic Riverways:
                          <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/ozark_park99.pdf>. - Mod.MHJ]

                          [see also:
                          White nose syndrome, bats - USA (08): (TN) 20100518.1630
                          White nose syndrome bats - USA (05): (NY) poss. treatment 20100325.0949
                          White nose syndrome - Canada: (ON) 1st report 20100322.0905
                          White nose syndrome bats - USA (04): (MD) 20100321.0896
                          White nose syndrome bats - USA (03): (WV) 20100225.0626
                          White nose syndrome bats - USA (02): (TN) 20100219.0570
                          White nose syndrome, bats - USA: (VT) 20100209.0438]
                          .................mpp/mhj/msp/mpp
                          Separate the wheat from the chaff

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                            Now in Quebec
                            Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/techn...749/story.html

                            White-nose syndrome: North American bats are dying
                            By Hannah Hoag, Special to The Gazette May 28, 2010 8:02 PM

                            MONTREAL ? In March, Fr?d?rick Leli?vre found himself crawling through a narrow passage into the final chamber of the Lafl?che Cave in Val des Monts. Raising his eyes to the hibernating bats on the rock above him, his heart dropped. The tiny lime-size animals were dusted with a white powdery substance. Most of them had it on their muzzles, and it was on the wings and the feet of others. It wasn?t a good sign.

                            Wildlife biologists in the United States have come across similar sights over the last four years. Since 2006, a strange new fungus has been spreading through bat roosts, from New Hampshire to Oklahoma, leaving a grisly mess of rotting bat carcasses and toothpick-size bones in its wake.

                            Until recently, the fungus had remained south of the border. But by March, the illness ? dubbed white-nose syndrome ? had spread to Ontario as well as Quebec.

                            Despite the scene before him, Leli?vre clung to the faint hope that this was something different. Unlike the bat hibernacula in the U.S., the Lafl?che Cave wasn?t littered with carcasses.

                            ?We looked at many, many bats, and we found the mould on them, but we found only a few dead bats,? says Leli?vre, a biologist at the Quebec Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife.

                            Leli?vre sent whole bats to the Centre qu?b?cois sur la sant? des animaux sauvages at the Universit? de Montr?al faculty of veterinary medicine in St. Hyacinthe for necropsies to look more closely at the bats' condition. Skin samples taken during the necropsy were then sent to the National Wildlife Health Centre in Madison, Wis., where a genetic test was used to identify the fungus. Both studies are necessary for diagnosis.

                            Andr? Dallaire, a veterinary pathologist, studied the animals ? outside and in ? for signs of the infection. The fungus looks like ?what you?d see if you had a piece of bread that you left too long on the countertop,? he says. Some of the bats he examined were emaciated, having burned though their body fat and muscle to try to stay alive.

                            By mid-April, Leli?vre had received word that the bats from the Outaouais area cave carried the same fungus as those in the U.S.

                            ?I was very worried. I thought, ?Oh, no! Are we also going to lose our bat populations?? ? says Leli?vre.

                            More than one million bats have died in the U.S. In some hibernacula, 90 to 100 per cent of the bats have been reduced to a pile of bones. Aeolus Cave in East Dorset, Vt., ? the largest hibernaculum in New England ? once held an estimated 300,000 bats, says Scott Darling, a wildlife biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Now about one-tenth of the initial population remains.

                            The loss of so many bats has ramifications for humans and the ecosystem.

                            Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/techn...#ixzz0pHXHoijU

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                              As already presumed, without some cure,
                              the disease tresspassed all borders to kill further,
                              no human sci special help used for the bats.

                              at this point,
                              this thread could freely cut off the last part of its name,
                              the " - Possible treatment"

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: USA: Bats Die by the Thousands - Possible treatment

                                Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39290633...ience-science/


                                Mysterious bat-killing disease appears harmless in Europe
                                Researchers confirmed presence of fungus associated with white-nose syndrome in living German, Swiss and Hungarian bats

                                By Wynne Parry
                                updated 9/21/2010 1:01:35 PM ET

                                Almost four years after bats in the Eastern United States began awakening from their winter slumber only to die en masse, the mechanism by which the so-called white-nose syndrome kills remains a mystery. The fungus associated with it, however, appears to have a European connection, scientists now say.

                                Reports of European bats sporting the white puffs of fungi on their muzzles, which are the signature of white-nose syndrome in the United States, date back to the early 1980s. But no one paid much attention, because it was not associated with mass mortalities, according to Gudrun Wibbelt, a veterinary pathologist with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin...

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