---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Greg Lucas <luc...@dnr.sc.gov>
Bat disease white-nose syndrome confirmed in South Carolina
SPECIAL NEWS RELEASE #13–5 March 11, 2013 DNR News (864) 380-5201
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (202) 734-8452
Bat disease white-nose syndrome confirmed in South Carolina
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources recently received confirmation that
white-nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of bats in eastern
North American, is now officially in South Carolina.
Until now, South Carolina appeared to be insulated from white-nose syndrome
(WNS). However, a dead bat discovered recently at Table Rock State Park in
northern Pickens County has been confirmed to have WNS, which spreads mainly
through bat-to-bat contact and has not been found to infect humans or other
animals.
“We have been expecting WNS in South Carolina,” said Mary Bunch, wildlife
biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) based in Clemson.
“We have watched the roll call of states and counties and Canadian provinces
grow each year since the first bat deaths were noted in New York in 2007.”
Estimates of bat mortality from WNS in North America range from 5.7-6.7 million
bats since the new pathogen was first discovered.
Table Rock State Park staff informed Bunch about what appeared to be a dead bat
and asked whether it should undergo WNS testing. Bunch was doing routine WNS
monitoring in the area and collected the bat, a tri-colored bat. The bat was
collected on Feb. 21, transported on ice, and submitted to the Southeastern
Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study in Athens, Ga. The Wildlife Disease Study
confirmed the presence of Geomyces destructans fungus, which causes WNS.
Table Rock’s bat colony is in a remote portion of the park not accessible to
the public, and the discovery of the white-nose syndrome bat is not a threat to
park visitors’ health and safety and will not have any negative effects upon
their visits to Table Rock State Park.
With the addition of South Carolina, WNS has now been confirmed in 21 states
and five Canadian provinces.
Currently there is no cure or effective treatment for WNS, and mortality in
some species, such as the small tri-colored bat, has exceeded 98 percent. Bats
have very low reproductive rates so recovery from losses takes a long time.
Formerly common bats are becoming rare, and some rare bats may be lost. The
fungus grows best in a cool moist environment, the same places bats go to
hibernate.
Bat species that hibernate in mines or caves are susceptible to WNS. In South
Carolina, those species are big brown bat, little brown bat, Eastern
small-footed bat, Northern long-eared bat, tricolored bat and Southeastern bat.
In the Southeast, there are some other colonial, non-hibernating, bats in which
WNS has not been detected, such as the free-tailed bat and the evening bat.
While WNS is not harmful to humans, scientists believe it is possible for
humans to transport fungal spores on clothing and gear. In 2009, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service advised cavers and researchers to curtail caving
activities and implement decontamination procedures in an effort to reduce the
spread of WNS. The fungus cannot be killed simply by washing clothing.
Bats play a critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and have an
enormous impact on pest control, benefitting the economies of both forestry and
agriculture in the United States. For example, the one million little brown
bats that have already died due to WNS would have eaten between 660 and 1,320
metric tons of insects in one year. A recent study published in Science
estimates that insect-eating bats provide a significant pest-control service,
saving the U.S. agricultural industry at least $3 billion a year.
“The news that white-nose syndrome has been confirmed in South Carolina is
devastating for these very important mammals,” Bunch said. “We will continue to
work closely with our partners to understand the spread of this deadly disease
and to help minimize its impacts to affected bat species.”
For more information about white-nose syndrome, visit
www.WhiteNoseSyndrome.org.
#
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Greg Lucas
S.C. Department of Natural Resources
311 Natural Resources Drive
Clemson, SC 29631-3253
(864) 380-5201 (mobile)
--
Ann Froschauer
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 358-2636 (o)
(202) 734-8452 (c)
(703) 358-1780 (f)
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