White nose syndrome
dr. dolittle | August 29, 2017
Image source: Smithsonian Institution
You may recall prior Lifelines posts discussing the devastating effects of white nose syndrome (WNS) in bats. WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans is a fungus responsible for the deaths of millions of North American bats over the last ten years. In a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Dr. Craig Willis examined the effects of repeated arousals from hibernation induced by the fungal infection. Data from this new study provides evidence that infected animals do have…
dr. dolittle | December 10, 2012
Carol Meteyer, USGS National Wildlife Health Center
With an estimated 6.7 million bat deaths related to white nose syndrome, understanding this devastating disease is more important than ever. Wildlife Pathologist Carol Meteyer, from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, has been studying the carcasses of bats that survived white nose syndrome infections, only to succumb to their own immune systems. The overactive immune response is called immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). While hibernating, the immune system of these bats are down-regulated making them more…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2008tags: bats, little brown bats, Indiana bats, white nose syndrome, cavers, Alan Hicks
Hibernating bats suffering from the mysterious "White Nose Syndrome" (arrows).
Image: Alan Hicks, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation [larger view]
If you live in New York or Vermont, then you might have heard about the mystery disease that is killing tens of thousands of bats hibernating in caves and mines throughout these two states. The disease has been given the descriptive appellation, "white nose syndrome" because its most obvious symptom (besides death), is the peculiar ring of white fungus…