Group warns of mysterious bat plague sweeping country

RIGHT: The disease baffling scientists has been called the white nose syndrome because it manifests itself as a white coat around the bat's nose.

May 12th, 2010
12:00 PM ET

Wildlife agencies in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states have been put on notice after a mysterious bat-killing disease – white nose syndrome – was recently detected west of the Mississippi River.

The fungal disease, which has a 100 percent fatality rate, was first discovered in bats four years ago in Albany, New York, said Mollie Matteson, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The disease has subsequently spread into the Midwest, parts of the South, Canada, and most recently, Missouri, Matteson said.

Letters were sent to wildlife agencies to spur agencies to come up with response plans to stop the disease that has baffled scientists, Matteson said.

“It's absolutely devastating for the species it has affected so far,” Matteson said. The disease seems to strike only bats that hibernate, Matteson said.

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The disease, typically manifested by a white coat on the nose and in some cases on the animal's fur, has affected six species of the approximately 45 bat species in the entire United States.

But humans should be concerned.

“While we haven’t heard anything about transmission to humans, people can spread the disease,” Matteson said.

“They can spread it on their clothing and gear, because the fungal spores can be in the caves, particularly if people are crawling on the ground,” she said. “If they leave one cave where the spores are and go into another, they can contaminate it with those spores,” causing an outbreak, Matteson said.

A nonfatal version of the disease has been found in bats in Europe, Matteson said, but “bats here in North America have no defense.”

Although scientists are experimenting with various anti-fungal treatments, there is no known cure or effective treatment for white nose syndrome, Matteson said.

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