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A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Sun 16 May 2010
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press [edited]
Wildlife workers have found white-nose syndrome in bats from 3 more
caves in Tennessee -- one right in the heart of Fall Creek Falls State Park.
Cherokee National Forest officials also have confirmed a migration
route of bats in Cherokee Forest caves to a Smoky Mountains National
Park cave where the disease was found several weeks ago [see
ProMED-mail prior posting .
Wildlife workers have found white-nose syndrome in bats from 3 more
caves in Tennessee -- one right in the heart of Fall Creek Falls
State Park. Cherokee National Forest officials also have confirmed a
migration route of bats in Cherokee Forest caves to a Smoky Mountains
National Park cave where the disease was found several weeks ago [see
White nose syndrome bats - USA (02): (TN) 20100219.0570].
"There are ramifications (for people and ecosystems)," said Roger
Applegate, a biologist with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
"A bat consumes astronomical numbers of insects in a night. No matter
what numbers you see on some website, it could be much more than
that. And they consume lots of insects that transmit human diseases.
They also eat insects that damage crops and trees, and some bats act
as pollinators," he said.
The discovery by staff of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and
the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation brings the
total of infected caves to 6 in Tennessee. Bats from Camps Gulf Cave
in Van Buren County at Fall Creek Falls, Grindstaff Cave in Carter
County, and East Fork Saltpeter Cave in Fentress County have tested
positive. The syndrome 1st was confirmed in Tennessee in March [2010]
in caves in Sullivan and Montgomery counties. To date, no large bat
kills have been observed in Tennessee.
White-nose Syndrome is an infectious fungus attributed to killing
over one million bats in the northeastern U.S. since it was 1st
observed in 2006.
Laura Lewis, a biologist with the Cherokee National Forest, said
findings of the disease the the Smokies and in caves on a Virginia
national forest that borders the Cherokee National Forest are
especially worrisome. "We are concerned very much for the Cherokee
National Forest," she said.
Cherokee biologists have tracking equipment on some local bats, and
data shows some are showing up in the cave in the Smokies where the
disease has been found. "We have found that bats in Monroe county
travel to that cave in the Smokies," she said. "Bats are an extremely
mobile species, and we have federally endangered Indiana bats
traveling back and forth in that pattern. It's really extremely disheartening."
The disease also has been found in the George Washington and
Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, which adjoins the Cherokee
National Forest at it northern tip, she said. Caves in Tennessee on
both federal and state public lands have been closed to cavers for a
year, in an effort to stem the spread of the disease.
In the Northeast, large [bat] mortalities occurred in the 2nd and 3rd
years after initial confirmations of the fungus. There have been no
reported human illnesses attributed to white-nose syndrome, and there
is no evidence to suggest it is harmful to organisms other than bats,
officials have said.
On the Web: To see a map of the syndrome's spread as of April, see
organizations from across the country are urging Congress to increase
funding for research into a disease that is killing bats in the
eastern United States.The latest effort to help stop the spread of
so-called "white nose syndrome" is being spearheaded by the
Richmond-based Center for Biological Diversity.
[Byline: Pam Sohn]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Tennessee is available
at
For a description of Fall Creek Falls State Park, go to
For a map of its location go to
click on the cartoon map in the top right hand corner. - Mod.MHJ]
[see also:
White nose syndrome bats - USA (05): (NY) poss. treatment 20100325.0949
White nose syndrome - Canada: (ON) 1st report 20100322.0905
White nose syndrome bats - USA (04): (MD) 20100321.0896
White nose syndrome bats - USA (03): (WV) 20100225.0626
White nose syndrome bats - USA (02): (TN) 20100219.0570
White nose syndrome, bats - USA: (VT) 20100209.0438]
...................................mhj/mj/mpp
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