Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

White-Nose Syndrome, WNS, is an emerging fungal disease in the Northern American bat population causing mass mortality in infected hibernacula. Geomyces destructans is a newly discovered psychrophilic fungus causing WNS but the pathogenesis and epidemiology of the disease is not yet fully clarified. Geomyces destructans has been found in Europe but has not been a cause of mass mortality there. This study is the first investigation done to see if G. destructans is present in Sweden. Nine hibernacula were visited in early 2011. In the hibernacula 277 bats were visually inspected and 135 samples from the environment were analyzed by fungal cultures. In the summer of 2011 another 90 bats caught in mist nets for surveillance of European Bat Lyssavirus, EBLV, were also sampled from facial fur for mycology cultures. All culture results in this limited initial study where negative for G. destructans and no visible changes indicating WNS were seen. The widespread distribution of G. destructans in Europe and the absence of bat mortalities in Europe suggests that even if G. destructans was to be found in Sweden it would presently not be considered to be an immediate threat to Swedish bat populations. Annual bat inventories are an important tool for early detection of increased mortality and morbidity within a population.