White-Nose Syndrome (WNS)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) was first noted among dead and hibernating bats found in caves near Albany, New York, by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation beginning in February 2007. Affected bats had a white substance on their face and wings. In early 2008, “white-nosed” bats were once again seen in sites where bats hibernate (hibernacula). Since March 2008, biologists estimate that over a million bats have died from this disease, many of which have been little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). White-nose syndrome mortality has been documented in 13 states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, and in 2 Canadian provinces (Ontario and Quebec).
Since January 2008, the NWHC has received over 550 bat carcasses of 20 different species for diagnostic investigation. Small skin samples from bat wings and fungal isolates have also been submitted for testing. To determine if bats are affected by white-nose syndrome, scientists look for a characteristic microscopic pattern of skin erosion caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans. Field signs of WNS can include visible white fungal growth on bat muzzle and/or wing tissue, but this is not a reliable indicator of WNS. Infected bats also often display abnormal behaviors in their hibernacula, such as movement toward the mouth of caves and daytime flights during winter. These abnormal behaviors may contribute to the untimely consumption of stored fat reserves causing emaciation, a characteristic documented in a portion of the bats that die from WNS.
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, working with many partners, continues to play a primary role in WNS research. Studies conducted at the Center were crucial to the identification and naming of the fungus, and to the development of histopathologic criteria for characterizing infection by G. destructans. DNA from G. destructans has recently been identified on three new Myotis species (M. grisescens, M. velifer, and M. austroriparius) in Missouri, Oklahoma and Virginia, respectively, as well as on female little brown bats arriving at maternity colonies in Delaware. Unusual mortality has not been reported associated with the apparent westward expansion of the fungus, and it remains to be seen if WNS will develop and manifest similarly in warmer climate zones. Current estimates of bat population declines since the emergence of WNS are as high as 97% in some areas.
The Broad Institute of MIT/Harvard received help from USGS NWHC to sequence the genome of G. destructans. The Broad Institute recently released the assembly of the G. destructans nuclear and mitochondrial genomes on their Web site and also submitted the data to Genbank. These data will facilitate the identification of virulence determinants of WNS, allow researchers to study the genetic history of the fungus, and provide access to additional genetic markers for the development of improved diagnostic tests.
List of states with confirmed cases of WNS in bats: CT, MA, NH, NJ, MD, NY, PA, TN, VA, VT, WV, IN, and NC.
WNS Occurrence by County
Map courtesy of Cal Butchkoski, Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Report WNS observations to your state conservation agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.
To report wildlife mortality events to USGS, please visit the mortality reporting page or contact a member of NWHC’s Field Investigations Team:
- Western U.S.: Barb Bodenstein, 608-270-2447, bbodenstein@usgs.gov
- Central U.S.: Dr. LeAnn White, 608-270-2491, clwhite@usgs.gov
- Eastern U.S.: Dr. Anne Ballmann, 608-270-2445, aballmann@usgs.gov
- Hawaii, Pacific Islands: Dr. Thierry Work, 808-792-9520, thierry_work@usgs.gov
- Nationwide, single animal cases only: Jennifer Bradsby, 608-270-2443, jbradsby@usgs.gov
WNS Related Links
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Experimental infection of bats with Geomyces destructans causes white-nose syndrome
Researchers have confirmed that a recently identified fungus is responsible for white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease that is sweeping through bat colonies in eastern North America. Full Article
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Bat White-Nose Syndrome: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen?
A previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus has been linked to white-nose syndrome, a condition associated with the deaths of over one million hibernating bats in the northeastern United States. The findings are published in the January 9, 2009 issue of Science. Download PDF
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Other WNS Publications
- Recovery of little brown bats (myotis lucifugus) from natural infection with geomyces destructans, white-nose syndrome (Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2011)
- DNA-based detection of the fungal pathogen Geomyces destructans in soil from bat hibernacula. (Mycologia 2010)
- Wing pathology of white-nose syndrome in bats suggests life-threatening disruption of physiology (BMC Biology Journal, November 2010)
- WNS Fungus in Bats, Europe (Emerging Infectious Diseases, August 2010)
- Rapid PCR technique to detect Geomyces destructans in bat skin (J. Vet. Diag., 2010)
- WNS Fungus in Bat, France (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Feb. 2010)
- Histopathologic criteria to confirm white-nose syndrome in bats (J. Vet. Diag., 2009)
- Species Name Published for Fungus that Causes White Nose Syndrome Skin Infection (Mycotaxon, 2009)
- Could localized warm areas inside cold caves reduce mortality of hibernating bats affected by white-nose syndrome? (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2009)
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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
(Revised 12.15.2011) 
