Illinois becomes 20th state in US to confirm WNS

[David Riggs]

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed
the presence of White-Nose Syndrome, in four Illinois counties:
LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in
southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme
southern Illinois. Little Brown Bats and Northern Long-Eared Bats from
these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid
February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease,
while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County
bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS. This makes Illinois the 20th
confirmed US state with WNS.

- DR


See: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/news/Pages/White-NoseSyndromeConfirmedinIllinoisBats.aspx


White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed in Illinois Bats

Illinois becomes 20th state in U.S. to confirm deadly disease in bats

Springfield, IL - The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease
fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties.

The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS),
the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the
University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and
the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted
in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in
north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and
Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois.

Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties
were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013.
Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal
pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe
County bat at the INHS.

With confirmation of WNS in Illinois, a total of 20 states, mostly in
the eastern U.S., and five Canadian Provinces have now been confirmed
infected. Currently seven hibernating bat species are affected by
WNS: little brown bat, big brown bat, northern long-eared bat,
tri-colored bat, eastern small-footed bat, the endangered Indiana bat,
and the endangered gray bat. The disease continues to spread rapidly
and has the potential to infect at least half of the bat species found
in North America.

White-nose syndrome is not known to affect people, pets, or livestock
but is harmful or lethal to hibernating bats, killing 90 percent or
more of some species of bats in caves where the fungus has lasted for
a year or longer, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. WNS
is known to be transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but spores of
Geomyces destructans, the non-native, cold-loving fungus that causes
white-nose syndrome, may be inadvertently carried between caves and
abandoned mines by humans on clothing, footwear, and caving gear. The
name of the disease refers to the white fungal growth often found on
the noses of infected bats.

White-nose syndrome was first detected in New York State in 2006 and
has killed more than 5.7 million cave-dwelling bats in the eastern
third of North America as it has spread south and west
across the landscape. A map of the current spread of white-nose
syndrome can be found at http://whitenosesyndrome.org/resources/map.

Research has shown that WNS-infected bats are awaking from hibernation
as often as every three to four days as opposed to the normal every
10-20 days. The fungus damages the connective tissues, muscles and
skin of the bats while also disrupting their physiological functions.
The bats wake up dehydrated and hungry during the cold winters when
there are no insects to eat.

"Although its arrival was anticipated, the documented spread of WNS
into Illinois is discouraging news, mainly because there is no known
way to prevent or stop this disease in its tracks,” said Joe Kath,
Endangered Species Manager for the IDNR.
“Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United
States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry several billion
dollars a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most
overlooked, economically important, non-domesticated animals in North
America.”

“Isolating the fungal pathogen directly from a bat is the ‘gold
standard’ for confirming this disease, and the Bat WNS team at the
University of Illinois was able to do this in our laboratory,” said
Andrew Miller, Mycologist at INHS.

“We are saddened by the discovery of WNS in Illinois,” said National
WNS Coordinator Jeremy Coleman of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“We will continue to work with our partners to address this
devastating disease and work towards conservation of bat species in
North America.”

Because Illinois and several other Midwestern states are home to many
federally endangered bat species, as well as some of the largest
hibernating bat populations in the country, the complete closure of
all IDNR-owned and/or managed caves within the State of Illinois was
enacted in 2010. In addition, all caves within the Shawnee National
Forest, managed by the USFS, have been formally closed since 2009.
Both the IDNR and USFS will be evaluating these caves on an annual
basis and the closure orders will remain in effect for the benefits of
bat conservation until further notice. Unfortunately, research
indicates that the fungus that causes WNS remains in caves where bats
hibernate even when bats are not present and the IDNR remains
concerned that people may inadvertently carry WNS out of the caves
with them.

“The IDNR recognizes that continued cave closures will require
patience from the caving community and other citizens. However, the
observed devastation to bat populations and the evidence for
human-assisted spread justifies that we exercise an abundance of
caution in managing activities that impact caves and bats,” Kath
added. “We understand these measures will not be a cure for WNS, but
they are necessary to help slow the spread of this affliction and to
reduce the risks to surviving bat populations in North America.”

Bats are the only major predator of night-flying insects and play a
crucial role in the environment. A single big brown bat can eat
between 3,000 and 7,000 mosquitos in a night, with large populations
of bats consuming thousands of tons of potentially harmful forest and
agricultural pests annually. The bat conservation community is deeply
concerned and involved with fighting the spread of WNS. Researchers in
Illinois and across the U.S. are working diligently on finding a way
to mitigate this fatal disease. Federal, state and local organizations
continue to focus on conservation, containment, and education.