Bats on Menu at Congressional Hearings / Die-Off

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME, BATS - USA (13): (NEW JERSEY)
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A ProMED-mail post

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International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: 7 Jul 2009
Source: Daily Record [edited]



More than 90 percent of the 30 000 bats within the Hibernia Mine are
dead amid rising concerns about a mysterious illness decimating their
numbers throughout the northeast.

A U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday [8 Jul 2009] will feature
testimony on white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease of unknown origins
causing the winged mammals to lose stored body fat and eventually
die. It is named for the white, powdery fungus growing on the bat's muzzle.

"We must ensure that everything possible is being done to prevent an
ecological disaster," U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said in a statement.

First diagnosed in New York in 2006, white-nose syndrome was
documented in New Jersey in January 2009 after 3 brown bats in
Rockaway Township and one in Denville were recovered and sent for
testing. Rockaway Township is home to the Hibernia Mine, the state's
best-known bat hibernaculum.

Bat sightings throughout the region soared last winter [2008-2009],
which scientists attributed to scores fleeing hibernation in a
desperate and ultimately fatal search for food.

State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokeswoman
Darlene Yuhas said Tuesday [7 Jul 2009] that DEP's principal
zoologist, Mick Valent, prepared the 90 percent death toll estimate
during visits to the Hibernia Mine.

Wednesday's [8 Jul 2009] hearing in Washington will begin at 10 a.m.
and focus on threats to native wildlife species, with white-nose
syndrome on the agenda. Lautenberg said he requested the hearing and
is seeking emergency funding for research into a cure.

The potential environmental impact of white-nose syndrome is
enormous. Since bats feed on insects, fewer bats would mean more
mosquitoes, for example.

Merlin Tuttle, an internationally known bat expert and founder of Bat
Conservation International in Austin, Texas, told the Daily Record in
January 2009 that a decrease in bats could affect cucumber crops.
Tuttle noted that researchers are concerned that White Nose Syndrome
will eventually spread much farther. He said that Texas has a cave
with 20 million bats credited with devouring 200 tons of insects per night.

There is no evidence of white-nose syndrome posing a risk to people
or pets. Rockaway Township, though, moved up to 28 Feb 2010 its
spring free rabies clinic. The clinic is usually held in April, but
Rockaway Township's health director said the township wanted to hold
it sooner because of a rising number of resident calls about bat
sightings in their homes, on their property and elsewhere in town.

[Byline: Rob Jennings: ]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland

[I am unsure what a senate hearing will do to solve the mysterious
White Nose Syndrome that seems to devastate bat communities in many
areas. While I applaud the government for seeking more information on
this baffling subject, it seems only a breakthrough in science or a
miracle from God will solve this syndrome. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
White nose syndrome, bats - USA (12) 20090510.1750
White nose syndrome, bats - USA (11) 20090510.1743
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (10): cave closings 20090507.1703
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (09): (VA) susp. 20090427.1590
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (08): (MA) 20090414.1413
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (07) 20090320.1110
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (06): (PA) RFI 20090311.1011
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (05): (PA) 20090309.0975
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (04): (PA) 20090306.0931
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (03): (WV) susp 20090220.0711
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA (02): (northeast) 20090208.0578
White-nose syndrome, bats - USA: (Northeast) 20090129.0401]
.........................................................tg/msp/dk

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