MONTGOMERY-A recent survey of 24 bat caves in 11 Alabama counties shows that white-nose syndrome (WNS) in the state’s bat population has not spread to south Alabama. The first case of WNS was discovered in Jackson County in 2012.
WNS is a deadly fungal disease that affects bats and is responsible for the deaths of more than 6 million bats in the U.S. and Canada. Named for a white fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, WNS affects the skin of the muzzle, ears and wings of hibernating bats. Signs of WNS can include visible white fungal growth on the bat’s muzzle and wings and displays of abnormal behavior that may contribute to emaciation in the affected bats. WNS does not affect humans.
During the survey conducted in the winter of 2014-15, cotton swabs were used to sample bats and cave surfaces for the presence of the fungus that causes the disease. Swabs were collected at 11 locations in six Alabama counties: Bibb, Colbert, Conecuh, Covington, Limestone and Monroe.
DNA analysis of the cotton swabs detected the presence of the fungus in Colbert County,
Source:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html Nov 08
which is within the known range of the disease in Alabama. WNS was not detected in Bibb, Conecuh, Covington or Monroe counties.
A bat showing symptoms in Limestone County tested positive for the disease. A dead bat collected at Cathedral Caverns State Park in Marshall County also tested positive for WNS. Cathedral Caverns State Park will remain open and is safe for visitors.
To date, the following counties are now considered positive for the disease in Alabama: Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone and Marshall. Although the fungus is present in Colbert and Lauderdale counties, those counties are considered “suspect” because the disease has not been confirmed on a bat through laboratory analysis.
Massive die-offs of bats have not been observed in Alabama as in other states, but researchers in north Alabama are beginning to see lower counts of bats in some caves, a sign consistent with WNS.
The WNS survey was conducted by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners in the Alabama Bat Working Group. Lab analysis of samples collected at the survey sites was conducted by the National Wildlife Health Center and Southern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study with financial support from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For more information about the survey results contact Nicholas Sharp with the WFF nongame program at 256-353-2634 or Nicholas.Sharp@dcnr.alabama.gov.
MEDIA RELEASE/Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
