Happy Halloween! Todayโs path rounds are on ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ง๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
๐๐ก๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ง๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ is a fungal infection with an extremely high mortality rate. In fact, this infection has killed an estimated 6 million bats in North America, which might be the largest mammalian wildlife mortality event in recorded history. Poor bats 
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
Bat species in ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ predominantly get this disease. The fungus is thought to be native to Europe and Asia, and bats in these areas are thought to be resistant to the fungus. Because bats in North America have not evolved with this fungus, they are highly susceptible to the disease. The fungus was first discovered in New York in 2006, and since then it has spread widely.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
The fungus that causes this disease is called ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ง๐จ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐๐ง๐ฌ. It is considered a ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ญ๐ข๐ (soil-dwelling) fungus, which means it does not need to be within an animal to survive and persist. This feature of the fungus has allowed it to survive in the caves where bats live, and increased its ability to โhitch a rideโ on humans, animals, insects, etc to transfer to new caves and infect new bat populations.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ?
The fungus causes fungal growths on the muzzle, ears and wings of hibernating bats. This infection is thought to increase the metabolism of the bats while they hibernate, causing them to burn through their fat stores earlier than they normally would. This leads to the bats waking up from hibernation too early, typically in the middle of winter when there is no insect prey available. Ultimately, these bats will die from a combination of starvation and other disease processes that the fungus can cause.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐๐?
Typically these bats are found dead, so the main way to diagnose the disease is via ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ or looking at tissue under the microscope to visualize the fungus.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐?
The best method of prevention is leaving bats alone! Donโt enter their caves, and do not touch any roosting areas. If you do enter a cave, thorough decontamination of your shoes and equipment is vital to preventing the spread of the disease, especially if you will be entering multiple caves with the same equipment.
๐๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ
1-4) Bats with white nose fungus on their noses.
5) A bat with fungal growths on its wing.
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
Terio, KA, McAloose, D, St. Leger, J. Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals. 2018.
Photos 1-5 ยฉ Wikimedia Commons contributors Moriarty, von Linden, NPS, Taylor licensed under CC 2.0 Generic.
