White-Nose Syndrome
Science Center Objects
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern across United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in 34 states and seven Canadian provinces (as of March 2020) have died from this devastating disease.
Bat population declines are expected to have substantial impacts on the environment and agriculture. Bats eat insects that damage crops and spread disease. Consumption of insects by bats saves farmers billions of dollars in pest control services annually.
White-nose syndrome is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that infects skin of the muzzle, ears, and wings of hibernating bats. Field signs of WNS can include excessive or unexplained mortality at a hibernaculum; visible white fungal growth on the muzzle or wings of live or freshly dead bats; abnormal daytime activity during winter months or movement toward hibernacula openings; and severe wing damage in bats that have recently emerged from hibernation. Infected bats experience a cascade of physiologic changes that result in weight loss, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and death. To determine conclusively if bats are affected by white-nose syndrome, scientists must examine a skin specimen to look for a characteristic microscopic pattern of skin erosion caused by P. destructans. Please see below for guidance on sample collection and submission for diagnostic services.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been a leading contributor to the interagency response to WNS since 2008 and continues to provide ongoing scientific support to these efforts by performing fundamental research on bat ecology, fungal biology, and WNS epidemiology and pathology.
More resources on white-nose syndrome:
- NWHC Bat White-Nose Syndrome/Pd Surveillance Submission Guidelines (Winter 2019 - 2020)
- Winter 2019/2020 Bat Submission Guidelines and Highlights from the 2018/2019 White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance Season
- A National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing White-Nose Syndrome in Bats
- White-Nose Syndrome.org - A Coordinated Response to the Devastating Bat Disease
- White-nose syndrome occurrence map
- White-nose Syndrome Case Definitions
- Explorers for Bats video
- Battle for Bats video
White-nose syndrome surveillance training videos
White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) assists State, Federal, and Tribal wildlife agencies nationwide with early detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), and addresses specific research priorities identified by partners in conjunction with the...
-
Year Published: 2016White-nose syndrome in North American bats - U.S. Geological Survey updates
White-nose syndrome is a devastating wildlife disease that has killed millions of hibernating bats. This disease first appeared in New York during 2007 and has continued to spread at an alarming rate from the northeastern to the central United States and throughout eastern Canada. The disease is named for the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans,...
Lankau, Emily W.; Moede Rogall, GailAttribution: National Wildlife Health Center, EcosystemsView CitationLankau, E.W., and Moede-Rogall, Gail, 2016, White-nose syndrome in North American bats—U.S. Geological Survey updates: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016–3084, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20163084.
Use of multiple sequencing technologies to produce a high-quality genome of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of bat White-Nose syndrome
White-Nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improvised reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies.
Drees, Kevin P.; Palmer, Jonathan M.; Sebra, Robert; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Chen, Cynthia; Wu, ChengCang; Bok, Jin Woo; Keller, Nancy F.; Blehert, David S.; Cuomo, Christina A.; Linder, Daniel L.; Foster, Jeffrey T. Optimized methods for total nucleic acid extraction and quantification of the bat white-nose syndrome fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, from swab and environmental samples
The continued spread of white-nose syndrome and its impacts on hibernating bat populations across North America has prompted nationwide surveillance efforts and the need for high-throughput, noninvasive diagnostic tools. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis has been increasingly used for detection of the causative...
Verant, Michelle; Bohuski, Elizabeth A.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Blehert, David S. Estimating the short-term recovery potential of little brown bats in the eastern United States in the face of White-nose syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) was first detected in North American bats in New York in 2006. Since that time WNS has spread throughout the northeastern United States, southeastern Canada, and southwest across Pennsylvania and as far west as Missouri. Suspect WNS cases have been identified in Minnesota and Iowa, and the causative agent of WNS (...
Russell, Robin E.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Erickson, Richard A.; Szymanski, Jennifer A.; Tinsley, Karl Direct detection of fungal siderophores on bats with white-nose syndrome via fluorescence microscopy-guided ambient ionization mass spectrometry
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans is decimating the populations of several hibernating North American bat species. Little is known about the molecular interplay between pathogen and host in this disease. Fluorescence microscopy ambient ionization mass spectrometry was used to generate...
Mascuch, Samantha J.; Moree, Wilna J.; Cheng-Chih Hsu, Cheng-Chih; Turner, Gregory G.; Cheng, Tina L.; Blehert, David S.; Kilpatrick, A. Marm; Frick, Winifred F.; Meehan, Michael J.; Dorrestein, Pieter C.; Gerwick, Lena White-nose syndrome initiates a cascade of physiologic disturbances in the hibernating bat host
Background The physiological effects of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats and ultimate causes of mortality from infection with Pseudogymnoascus (formerly Geomyces) destructans are not fully understood. Increased frequency of arousal from torpor described among hibernating bats with late-stage WNS is thought to...
Verant, Michelle L.; Meteyer, Carol U.; Speakman, John R.; Cryan, Paul M.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Blehert, David S. The fungus Trichophyton redellii sp. nov. causes skin infections that resemble white-nose syndrome of hibernating bats
Before the discovery of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, there were no reports of fungal skin infections in bats during hibernation. In 2011, bats with grossly visible fungal skin infections similar in appearance to WNS were reported from multiple sites in Wisconsin, USA, a state outside the...
Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Minnis, Andrew M.; Meteyer, Carol U.; Redell, Jennifer A.; White, J. Paul; Kaarakka, Heather M.; Muller, Laura K.; Lindner, David L.; Verant, Michelle L.; Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Blehert, David S. Nonlethal screening of bat-wing skin with the use of ultraviolet fluorescence to detect lesions indicative of white-nose syndrome
Definitive diagnosis of the bat disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) requires histologic analysis to identify the cutaneous erosions caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus [formerly Geomyces] destructans (Pd). Gross visual inspection does not distinguish bats with or without WNS, and no nonlethal, on-site, preliminary screening methods are...
Turner, Gregory G.; Meteyer, Carol U.; Barton, Hazel; Gumbs, John F.; Reeder, DeeAnn M.; Overton, Barrie; Bandouchova, Hana; Bartonička, Tomáš; Martínková, Natália; Pikula, Jiri; Zukal, Jan; Blehert, David S. White-nose syndrome in bats: Illuminating the darkness
Happy ten-year anniversary to BMC Biology! We can attest to the effectiveness of the journal in reaching a great diversity of scientists based on reader responses to our commentary [1] about bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) two years ago. WNS is still on course to rank among the most destructive wildlife diseases to emerge in recent history, and it...
Cryan, Paul M.; Meteyer, Carol U.; Boyles, Justin G.; Blehert, David S. White-nose syndrome is likely to extirpate the endangered Indiana bat over large parts of its range
White-nose syndrome, a novel fungal pathogen spreading quickly through cave-hibernating bat species in east and central North America, is responsible for killing millions of bats. We developed a stochastic, stage-based population model to forecast the population dynamics of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) subject to white-nose syndrome...
Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Sanders-Reed, Carol A.; Szymanski, Jennifer A.; McKann, Patrick C.; Pruitt, Lori; King, R. Andrew; Runge, Michael C.; Russell, Robin E. Distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern United States
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats caused by the recently described fungus Geomyces destructans. First isolated in 2008, the origins of this fungus in North America and its ability to persist in the environment remain undefined. To investigate the correlation between manifestation of WNS and distribution of G....
Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Muller, Laura K.; Russell, Robin E.; O'Connor, Michael; Lindner, Daniel L.; Blehert, David S. A culture-based survey of fungi in soil from bat hibernacula in the eastern United States and its implications for detection of Geomyces destructans, the causal agent of bat white-nose syndrome
The recent emergence of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease causing unprecedented mortality among hibernating bats of eastern North America, has revealed a knowledge gap regarding fungal communities associated with bats and their hibernacula. We used culture-based techniques to investigate the diversity of fungi in soil samples collected...
Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Lindner, Daniel L.; Gargas, Andrea; Muller, Laura K.; Minnis, Andrew M.; Blehert, David S. Bat white-nose syndrome: a real-time TaqMan polymerase chain reaction test targeting the intergenic spacer region of Geomyces destructanstructans.
The fungus Geomyces destructans is the causative agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. We describe a real-time TaqMan PCR test that detects DNA from G. destructans by targeting a portion of the multicopy intergenic spacer region of the rRNA gene complex. The test is highly...
Muller, Laura K.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Lindner, Daniel L.; O'Connor, Michael; Gargas, Andrea; Blehert, David S.
White-Nose Syndrome Occurrence Map
View current and archived maps of white-nose syndrome occurrence by county/district.
Scientist taking environmental sample during WNS surveillance
Scientist taking environmental samples during white-nose syndrome surveillance activities. Lawrence County, OH. August 2012.
Scientist taking environmental samples during WNS surveillance
Scientist taking environmental samples during white-nose syndrome surveillance activities. Breckinridge County, IN. July 2012.
Set up to capture bats for white-nose syndrome surveillance activities
Mist-net and harp trap set up to capture bats for white-nose syndrome surveillance activities. Breckinridge County, KY. July 2012.
Examining the wing of a bat
Examining the wing of a bat. Monroe County, IN. July 2012.
Scientist taking a skin swab sample to test for presence of Pd
Scientist taking a skin swab sample to test for presence of Pd. Monroe County, IN. July 18, 2012.
Close up of water droplet covered hibernating bat in MA mine
Close up of water droplet covered hibernating bat in MA mine. 2008
Biologists in Massachusetts mine containing bats with WNS
USFWS and MA Division of F&W biologists in MA mine containing bats with WNS. 2008
Scientist at Bat Cave
USGS wildlife disease specialist Kim Miller outside of an abandoned mine where bats hibernate in NY.
Fungal covered items in NY mine (likely scat)
Fungal covered items in NY mine (likely scat). 2008.
Bats in torpor with water droplets on their fur
Bats in torpor with water droplets on their fur (condensation on the bats indicates that they are at ambient temperature; they have lowered their body temperature down about even with cave temperature). 2008.
-
Date published: May 11, 2012USGS Continues Research on White-Nose Syndrome
National Wildlife Health Center Collaborates with EcoHealth Alliance
Attribution: Region 3: Great Lakes, National Wildlife Health Center -
Date published: October 26, 2011Culprit Identified: Fungus Causes Deadly Bat Disease
The appropriately named fungus Geomyces destructans is the cause of deadly white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, according to research published today in the journalNature.
Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center -
Date published: December 15, 2010
Tattered Wings: Bats Grounded by White-Nose Syndrome’s Lethal Effects on Life-Support Functions of Wings
Madison, Wisconsin—Damage to bat wings from the fungus associated with white-nose syndrome (WNS) may cause catastrophic imbalance in life-support processes, according to newly published research.
Attribution: Region 3: Great Lakes -
Date published: October 30, 2008
Newly Identified Fungus Implicated in White-Nose Syndrome in Bats: Mysterious Bat Disease Decimates Colonies in the Northeast
A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over 100,000 hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. The findings are published in this week's issue of Science.
Attribution: National Wildlife Health Center