I received an email from someone studying WNS, and he told me that pseudomonas and coronavirus might also be involved.

Heavy pseudomonas was apparently previously cultured from the waters of at least one New York state cave, and a recent cardiac puncture of one bat still hanging from its toes while hibernating in this cave indicated pseudomonas infection.

He believes that coronavirus might also be involved, as it's known for depleting the immune system and has been found in Colorado bats.

He also agrees that cell phone tower radiation might play a role. Here's what he said...

I'm sending the cell tower map again so you can see that there appears
to be a connection with cell towers as well. I can send another map that
shows a good connection to predicted wheat blight also. This would
predict that Fusarium oxysporum should be found in the bats if they are
foraging in wheat fields. Interestingly, the Geomyces shown in published
photos of WNS fungus cultures looks almost exactly like Fusarium
oxysporum! I believe that there may be some interesting news about this
in the future.

Here is another website on RF bioeffects:

http://www.mapcruzin.com/radiofrequency/henry_lai1.htm

wyandottecaver wrote on 01/31/09 at 00:43:35:


"Sent: 1/31/2009 7:38:21 A.M. Eastern Standard Time
Subj: WNS in Trout Cave

I received early notice this morning from WVDNR that "it looks like Trout
(Cave) has white nose". This probably won't be confirmed and be official
for several weeks."

I didn't mean to imply someone was intentionally releasing WNS, just I'm a bit surprised it would spread so quickly on its own just from bat migrations and would have assumed it would take a few more seasons to get into WV. We went from Albany to central WV in just a couple of seasons.

Our site in PA is literally down the road from Alexander Caverns. Both Alexander and Trout are in the Northeast Cave Conservancy's WNS caver tracking database. It will be interesting to see if more "hot spots"" develop around caver tracking sites or if this just systematically spreads down the Appalachians. Unfortunately some agencies are understaffed this year so we'll have to be careful to draw conclusions when there is a lack of data. For example, the anthracite coal belt in PA is home to hundreds of thousands hibernating bats, but few mines cave be physically entered. Just because as of this writing WNS seems to have "jumped" the anthracite belt doesn't mean it's not there, it's just because we have to wait until mid-late February to see if bats are literally stumbling out of the entrances and dying in snowbanks.

The WNS was probably present last winter in these new sites in a minor way, then a few bats spread it to summer maternity colonies, and WNS is now likely to be in half the caves in Pendleton County WV and Mifflin County, PA. It could have been "spreading" in minor ways for years now, unnoticed, and now has reached a tipping point to become obvious to people. Why is the Shindle Iron Mine -loaded- with WNS in PA and it is a gated mine with -no- visitation since winter 2006/2007, and the next closest known proven WNS site was 150 miles away?

All that said, we do know that cave bats can migrate long distances, hundreds of miles in just a few days. In the case of little brown bats we thought this was the exception, as some of my recent work showed little browns migrating just a few miles from a mine. In fact NY Indiana bats have even been shown to be genetically isolated from the rest of the country. But that migration work takes alot of effort or alot of banding and alot of time, so no one knows just how far and how fast WNS might spread with all the factors thrown in.

Migrating bats caught in the right cold snap theoretically could have fungus problems (if fungus is the causative agent).  Red bats are just recently known to hibernate in leaf litter under snow, so it is possible that even non-cave dwelling bats could be at risk. Fortunately those tree bats are thought to be relatively solitary, but the possibility of transmitting some agent a thousand miles on the backs of bats is possible.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have updated Bat Conservation and Management's White Nose Syndrome web page to include some information about the Shindle Iron Mine, the first confirmed WNS site documented in PA.

http://www.batmanagement.com/wns/wns.html

Scroll to the bottom to find a photo essay on the January 29, 2009 including a number of fairly high resolution photos of bats in various stages of WNS.

Also included on the main page is a link to download a 5 minute long narrated HD video shot during the visit. This video is rather high quality, and you'll pay for it with a hefty 150 MB download, but I think it is worth the wait. The file format is .m4v, if it does not play simply update your Quicktime player or iTunes.

Both of these resources should be a good primer on what WNS looks like as there are "normal" bats mixed in with WNS bats.

From Bob Hoke:

     White Nose Syndrome Appears to have Come to West Virginia

On January 24, 2009, a group of DC-area cavers visited Hamilton Cave (Pendleton County, WV) for a tourist trip.  They reported seeing white fungus on two bats several hundred feet into the cave.  They also reported a large number of bats in the entrance area and a number of bats were observed flying within the cave.

Hamilton Cave is 4.75 miles long and is a popular recreational cave. It has seen increased visitation since the nearby Trout Cave was gated in September, 2008, to protect Trout’s hibernating colony of endangered Indiana bats.

Annual winter bat counts have been done in Hamilton since soon after the National Speleological Society purchased the cave in 1982. The cave’s 2009 count was scheduled for Friday, January 30, so that was a good time to check out the report of WNS symptoms in the cave.

A team of four did the count.  It consisted of Bob Hoke (a caver who has participated in all the counts since their inception in 1984), Jack Wallace (a non-game wildlife biologist with the W. Va. Division of Natural Resources), Cindy Sandeno (an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service), and Keely Owens (a caver from the Washington, DC. area).

The Hamilton bat count does not try to count all the bats in the cave.  Instead, a standard counting route is taken through the cave and the number of bats seen on the route is recorded.  The route is broken into ten areas and separate counts are maintained for each area.  The route and counting areas have remained consistent since the counts started in 1984.

Here is a summary of the significant observations during the 2009 count:

** The total number of bats in the cave was similar to previous years (473 in 2009, an average of 451 in 2004-2008).

** The number of bats in the entrance area was dramatically higher: 224 in 2009 versus an average of 16 in 2004-2008.

** The number of bats in the two rooms at the end of the counted area of the cave was significantly lower: 39 in 2009 versus an average of 179 in 2004-2008.

** The number of Little Brown bats (and similar looking Northern Long-Eared bats) was higher in 2009: 90 in 2009 versus an average of 22 in 2004-2008.  Coincidentally the number of Little Brown bats in Trout Cave dropped to 112 from an average of 127 in 2001-2007. However, this drop may not be statistically significant and may not be related to the increase seen in Hamilton.

** Bats were seen flying in all parts of the cave, especially close to the entrance.  Normally no more than one bat is seen in flight during the count.

** White fungus was observed on an estimated 25% of the bats where they were roosting close enough to be checked.  The amount of fungus varied from a few small spots to heavy infestation on the nose, wings, and ears.  The fungus appeared on all species (except the single Virginia Big-Ear seen just inside the entrance).  Several of the most affected bats were collected for analysis.

** Fungus was observed on bats in all areas of the cave.  However, the bats closest to the entrance appeared to have somewhat less than those further into the cave.

** Five dead bats were found at various points along the trail that leads to the cave.  These were all collected by WVDNR personnel. Tabitha Viner is a veterinary pathologist and she performed a field necropsy on one of the dead bats.  Her preliminary observation was that there was almost no body fat (a finding consistent with other studies of WNS-related mortality).

** The bat count finished about 5:30 PM, just as it was getting dark.  The flight activity of the bats in the entrance area increased and several flew out of the cave.  It appeared that most then returned, but the observers could not tell if any of the flying bats stayed out of the cave.  The outside air temperature was about 30 degrees.

** A temperature reading of 52 degrees was taken several hundred feet inside the cave.  Previous data logger temperature studies just inside the Hamilton entrance indicate that the cave starts the winter at about 55 degrees and that the temperature drops linearly to about 51.5 degrees by the end of winter.  Air is always flowing out of the cave’s single entrance during the winter so the entrance area is the same temperature as the rest of the cave. (This constant outflow indicates it is flowing in from an unknown entrance lower on the hillside.  It is possible that the flow is coming from New Trout Cave, which always sucks air in the winter and is located much lower on the same hillside as Trout and Hamilton caves).

In summary, Hamilton Cave exhibits all the classic symptoms of a cave being affected by White Nose Syndrome.  Although the formal analysis of the collected bats won’t be completed for some time, the evidence is compelling that WNS has somehow found its way to at least one West Virginia cave.

Bob Hoke
February 3, 2009

Excerpt from posting on NSS Forum.  Looks like things went from bad to worse....

I hate to be sending out this email. Things are not looking good. We did another cave in Pendleton County today – Cave Mountain Cave. This cave in about 17+ miles north of the two with likely WNS reported earlier. Of the 318 lucis observed, 40 showed signs of WNS. Of the 143 pips, 6 were definitely affected. Some of the pips have so much water condensed on them it is really had to tell if there is any fungus. There were no bats clustering near the entrance.

This cave has a summer maternity colony of Virginia big-eared bats and from banding data we know at least some of these bats hibernate in Hellhole, our best hibernaculum and the largest concentration of Virginia big-ears anywhere.

For what it is worth, we have we have seen a total of three big-ears in the affected caves and they look clean…so far.

Release #019-09


WHITE-NOSE KILLS HUNDREDS OF BATS IN LACKAWANNA COUNTY
Stricken bats die in and around their hibernation quarters at two abandoned mines.
Game Commission seeks public’s help in identifying other sites.

By Joe Kosack
Wildlife Conservation Education Specialist
Pennsylvania Game Commission

HARRISBURG – Several hundred little brown bats are dead from White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) in Lackawanna County, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission is looking to residents for help uncovering other sites where this deadly disorder may have surfaced.


Credit: Kevin Wenner/PGC Photo
– The Front – Game Commission Biologist Greg Turner checks dead bats outside an abandoned coal near Carbondale.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/press/2009/tightformation.jpg

Game Commission biologists had been uncovering signs of what appeared to be an impending WNS outbreak in Pennsylvania since last spring. Over the past two years, the disorder has killed more than 90 percent of some wintering bat colonies where it first surfaced in New York and spread through New England. Its confirmation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey came in the past two weeks, but Pennsylvania had a surprisingly unique distinction among the states where WNS has been documented; Pennsylvania bats were not leaving their wintering quarters – caves and mines – and weren’t dying. Unfortunately, that no longer can be said.

Last week, bats were found dead outside of an abandoned mine near Carbondale by a citizen who later reported the findings to the agency. Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Chris Skipper visited the site immediately and confirmed the findings. Bats were dead on the ground; flying from the mine; dropping from the sky. Then on Groundhog Day, agency biologist Greg Turner found bats flying from another Lackawanna County mine near Throop. They shouldn’t have been emerging for another six weeks.

“Roughly 50 percent of the bats in the mine near Carbondale displayed the characteristic white fungus,” said Kevin Wenner, an agency biologist stationed at the agency’s Northeast Region office in Dallas. “Bats have been and are staging close to the entrance of the mine; some dying in the mine while others were flying around and dying outside on top of the snow.  The bases of several trees near the mine entrance had piles of dead bats around them.  Hundreds were visible on top of the most recent snow, so I suspect there are thousands of dead bats.”

The findings in Lackawanna County are not unexpected, according to Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. But they do portend a disturbing and uncertain future for cave bats east of the Mississippi River and quite possibly beyond.

“The Game Commission has worked hard to stay abreast of White-Nose’s escalating presence in Pennsylvania,” Roe said. “Our bat biologists have been actively involved in field monitoring and research and are working closely with some of this country’s best and brightest minds in biology and epidemiology in their pursuit of clues. But a year later, there are just as many questions about WNS, and more dead bats.”

A couple weeks ago, the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, informed the Game Commission that bats it submitted from an old iron mine in Mifflin County had tested positive for a cold-loving fungi found on many bats diagnosed with WNS. The bats were discovered by Dr. DeeAnn Reeder, a biologist with Bucknell University, and Turner during ongoing field investigations into bat hibernation patterns that included weekly monitoring for the disorder’s presence in several Pennsylvania hibernacula. During this work, dozens of bats had a fungus appear around their muzzles and on wing membranes, while many others relocated from warmer, deeper areas of their hibernacula to areas close to the entrance, or failed to arouse during hibernacula disturbances.

Credit: Joe Kosack/PGC Photo
– Tight Formation – Cave bats like these little browns often hibernate in groups, which can increase their susceptibility to disorders like WNS.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/press/2009/lackawannma_mine_kevinwenner.jpg


Turner reported that he found the health of hibernating bats deteriorating in the abandoned Mifflin County iron mine near Shindle during his weekly visit with Dr. Reeder. Fungus was advancing on bats that had it and appearing on more bats – now about 50 percent of the colony. But, more important, dead bats were found in the water that flows through the mine.

“This mine may be the next hibernaculum where bats ‘fly and die,’” Turner said. “There’s a good chance bats are leaving other hibernacula instate and dying on the landscape, but we haven’t found them yet.  That is why we are asking for the public’s help.”

Currently, researchers still are unsure exactly how bats contract WNS and how it initially and, ultimately, affects a bat’s body. They cannot confirm whether the fungus appearing on some bats is a cause or a symptom of the disorder. New York and New England have lost tens –maybe even hundreds – of thousands of bats to WNS over the past two years.

Credit: Joe Kosack/PGC Photo
– Fatal Fungus – This cold-loving fungus is showing up on more and more hibernating bats. It is what WNS is named after.
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/press/2009/wnsfungusjoekosack.jpg


Lisa Williams, Game Commission biologist, said the public can help the agency better understand the distribution of WNS by reporting sick-acting or dead bats they find while out and about this winter.

“We’re not asking people to go out of their way to help, but if you hike or walk or drive along back roads, and encounter dead or dying bats, we’d really like to hear from you,” Williams said. “Please don’t go in caves or mines or underground. And do not handle bats – dead or alive – and keep children and pets away from grounded bats. Even though there currently are no known human health implications associated with WNS, the Game Commission would prefer that people not handle any bats; we’ll take care of all of that. We just need residents to let us know if they find something suspicious.”

There are two quick and easy ways to report sick-acting or dead bats this winter. The first is by calling the nearest Game Commission region office. The second is by using the Game Commission’s “Report Sick Bats” form that can be accessed in the left-hand column of the agency’s homepage (www.pgc.state.pa.us).

Wenner also reported another interesting finding while investigating the state’s latest WNS site on Monday.

“It’s important to realize that once the bats leave the mine, the fungus is not very visible as moisture and flight seem to wear it off the bat,” Wenner said. “So, simply looking at a bat for white fungus will not necessarily confirm whether it is a clean, WNS-free bat. That’s why all bats should be left where found and reported to the Game Commission.”

For Region Office contact information, as well as a listing of counties each serves, please visit the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and click on “Contact Us” in the left-hand column and scroll down to the region listings.

For more information on bats, visit the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), select “Wildlife” and then click on the bat photo.  To learn more about WNS, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website at www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html.

I hope they don't waste too much time trying to study this very normal, very harmless fungus, when the real problem involves the immune systems of these bats. The one researcher in this article even says that fungus doesn't usually kill animals, so why is she revoking that?

And if this fungus has indeed recently morphed into a dangerous pathogen, researchers really need to look into why so many microorganisms all started morphing at precisely the same time in history - among the amphibians, among the honeybees, and now among the bats. Seriously, what are the odds of that? Humans are next.

And the solution is simple - that is what is so frustrating. Turn off the cell phone towers. Turn off the wi-fi signals. The honeybees, the bats, the amphibians will all come back to life, and I'll get rid of Lyme. But unfortunately researchers were all taught to think in the same way - find a chemical cause and cure for everything, and ignore electromagneticism.

Two what-I-believe-to-have-been bats dipped in front of my car last night while I was driving through a parking lot in Allentown, PA last night. It was freezing out, too. Is Allentown located near any of these affected caves?