[quote author=242A273C23460 link=1215918466/72#72 date=1236708241]I hope they don't waste too much time trying to study this very normal, very harmless fungus, .....

I have read some papers that  describe human illness caused by Geomyces pannorum, a closely related species to G. destructans. It is very possible that humans will be found to be capable of infection by the WNS fungus...only a matter of time, and bad hygiene.

I am currently investigating a cave (and all its' microbes) that put at least two cavers in the hospital, one nearly died. The organism was never determined.

-p

There is an area of routine quake activity in the area south of Albany that I have been watching for several years. No caves or bats have been reported with problems in this specific area. Most of the quakes are of very low intensity.

What concerns me more is this report of a new virus emerging in Germany. It is already killing bats. This particular species appears to be an intestinal virus.
The entire paper is available online:

Sonntag M, Mühldorfer K, Speck S, Wibbelt G, Kurth A. New adenovirus in bats, Germany. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2009 Dec [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/15/12/2052.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1512.090646

If EMFs (cell phone towers, wifi, or solar or geomagnetic activity) are somehow involved in the development of WNS, I find the following very significant...and worrisome...

http://www.caves.org/WNS/Hellhole%20Photo%20Trip.pdf

One last, but important note: Hellhole is leased by a limestone quarry, which electronically
monitors the cave for any unauthorized intrusion. As a result, we know that no one has been in
the cave since September 1, 2007. Thus, we know that WNS arrived here by bat-to-bat
transmission, not via humans.

The problem is the early actions aren't mutually agreeable. Biologists can't definitively prove that cavers are causing the spread of the fungus, so public caves and mines are all open still and can't be closed- especially those on federal lands.

Microchiroptera don't do well in captivity, so captive breeding is a hard, expensive alternative. We also still don't have a pure understanding of the fungus and its life cycle, so it's hard to have any treatment.

Some biologists are starting to think it's a two year disease and others still think it's a one and done deal.