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Increasing incidence of Geomyces destructans fungus in bats from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: White-nose syndrome is a disease of hibernating insectivorous bats associated with the fungus Geomyces destructans. It first appeared in North America in 2006, where over a million bats died since then. In Europe, G. destructans was first identified in France in 2009. Its distribution, infection dynamics, and effects on hibernating bats in Europe are largely unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We screened hibernacula in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the presence of the fungus during the winter seasons of 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. In winter 2009/2010, we found infected bats in 76 out of 98 surveyed sites, in which the majority had been previously negative. A photographic record of over 6000 hibernating bats, taken since 1994, revealed bats with fungal growths since 1995; however, the incidence of such bats increased in Myotis myotis from 2% in 2007 to 14% by 2010. Microscopic, cultivation and molecular genetic evaluations confirmed the identity of the recently sampled fungus as G. destructans, and demonstrated its continuous distribution in the studied area. At the end of the hibernation season we recorded pathologic changes in the skin of the affected bats, from which the fungus was isolated. We registered no mass mortality caused by the fungus, and the recorded population decline in the last two years of the most affected species, M. myotis, is within the population trend prediction interval. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: G. destructans was found to be widespread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with an epizootic incidence in bats during the most recent years. Further development of the situation urgently requires a detailed pan-European monitoring scheme.

SUBMITTER: Martinkova N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2974652 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increasing incidence of Geomyces destructans fungus in bats from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Martínková Natália N Bačkor Peter P Bartonička Tomáš T Blažková Pavla P Cervený Jaroslav J Falteisek Lukáš L Gaisler Jiří J Hanzal Vladimír V Horáček Daniel D Hubálek Zdeněk Z Jahelková Helena H Kolařík Miroslav M Korytár L'uboš L Kubátová Alena A Lehotská Blanka B Lehotský Roman R Lučan Radek K RK Májek Ondřej O Matějů Jan J Rehák Zdeněk Z Šafář Jiří J Tájek Přemysl P Tkadlec Emil E Uhrin Marcel M Wagner Josef J Weinfurtová Dita D Zima Jan J Zukal Jan J Horáček Ivan I

PloS one 20101105 11

<h4>Background</h4>White-nose syndrome is a disease of hibernating insectivorous bats associated with the fungus Geomyces destructans. It first appeared in North America in 2006, where over a million bats died since then. In Europe, G. destructans was first identified in France in 2009. Its distribution, infection dynamics, and effects on hibernating bats in Europe are largely unknown.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>We screened hibernacula in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for the presen ...[more]

PMID: 21079781

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The dramatic mass mortalities amongst hibernating bats in Northeastern America caused by "white nose-syndrome" (WNS) continue to threaten populations of different bat species. The cold-loving fungus, Geomyces destructans, is the most likely causative agent leading to extensive destruction of the skin, particularly the wing membranes. Recent investigations in Europe confirmed the presence of the fungus G. destructans without associated mass mortality in hibernating bats in six countries but its distribution remains poorly known. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We collected data on the presence of bats with white fungal growth in 12 countries in Europe between 2003 and 2010 and conducted morphological and genetic analysis to confirm the identity of the fungus as Geomyces destructans. Our results demonstrate the presence of the fungus in eight countries spanning over 2000 km from West to East and provide compelling photographic evidence for its presence in another four countries including Romania, and Turkey. Furthermore, matching prevalence data of a hibernaculum monitored over two consecutive years with data from across Europe show that the temporal occurrence of the fungus, which first becomes visible around February, peaks in March but can still be seen in some torpid bats in May or June, is strikingly similar throughout Europe. Finally, we isolated and cultured G. destructans from a cave wall adjacent to a bat with fungal growth. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: G. destructans is widely found over large areas of the European continent without associated mass mortalities in bats, suggesting that the fungus is native to Europe. The characterisation of the temporal variation in G. destructans growth on bats provides reference data for studying the spatio-temporal dynamic of the fungus. Finally, the presence of G. destructans spores on cave walls suggests that hibernacula could act as passive vectors and/or reservoirs for G. destructans and therefore, might play an important role in the transmission process.

Dataset Information

Increasing incidence of Geomyces destructans fungus in bats from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Publications

Increasing incidence of Geomyces destructans fungus in bats from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

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