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- Title
First confirmation of Pseudogymnoascus destructans in British bats and hibernacula.
- Authors
Barlow, A. M.; Worledge, L.; Miller, H.; Drees, K. P.; Wright, P.; Foster, J. T.; Sobek, C.; Borman, A. M.; Fraser, M.
- Abstract
Context White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fatal fungal infection of hibernating insectivorous bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a psychrophilic fungus. It has become one of the most catastrophic infectious wildlife diseases ever recorded in North America and has killed more than 5.7 million bats since 2006. P destructans was identified in continental Europe in 2008, but it has not been associated with mass mortality of bats. It was unknown if P destructans was absent from the UK and whether British bat species would be susceptible to the fungus. Therefore, this study aimed to establish if P destructans was present in the UK and, if so, whether bat mortality was associated with its presence. Main conclusion The presence of P destructans was confirmed in the UK in one live Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) and in environmental samples from five out of six hibernacula sampled in the south east of England. The infected bat was from one of the P destructans-positive hibernacula. P destructans was not isolated from any of the 50 dead bats of at least eight species submitted from across the UK. Approach Opportunistic sampling began in 2009 and was carried out annually by volunteers from the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) during the winter hibernacula visits for BCT's national bat monitoring programme. The number of sites surveyed each year ranged from 786 to 905. Any dead bats with visible fungal growth found during the surveys were submitted to the AHVLA Langford laboratory for fungal culture. Any live bats were sampled using sticky tape touched onto visible fungal growth. Fine, rayon-tipped wire shaft swabs were also used for sampling during the winter of 2012/2013. By May 2012, no isolates of P destructans had been recovered from the 31 submissions received. Therefore, targeted environmental sampling of hibernacula during the winter of 2012/2013 was initiated. Six hibernacula were selected for initial surveillance based on their proximity to continental Europe, whether any suspect cases had been found in the past, and the type of site, to give a variety of hibernaculum substrates, including chalk, sandstone and brick. Five environmental samples from each hibernaculum were collected, including any combination of wall surface swabs and sediment samples. Results Fifty separate reports of bats, of at least eight different species, with fungal growth were investigated between March 2009 and July 2013. Forty-five of those were of dead bats, mostly singles, but up to four at any one site. The other five reports were of single reports in live bats with skin fungal growths. A suspected P destructans isolate was cultured from a white focus (approximately 2.5 mm diameter) on the ear of one live Daubenton's bat that had been sampled in a hibernaculum in Kent in February 2013. A variety of other fungi were isolated from the carcases and tape/swab samples submitted from the other report case submissions. All these were considered to be saprophytic or incidental findings. The suspected P destructans isolate was submitted to Public Health England's Mycology Reference Laboratory for further identification. PCR demonstrated that the isolate shared 100 per cent nucleotide homology with P destructans isolates when compared to sequences from GenBank. P destructans was confirmed in five of the six sites surveyed during the winter of 2012/2013. Interpretation P destructans has been confirmed, unassociated with bat mortality, in one bat species and in hibernacula in southeast England. However, opportunistic surveillance and more extensive hibernacula environmental sampling needs to be carried out across the UK to confirm the distribution of P destructans. Significance of findings Seven of the 17 species of resident and breeding British bats are UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. If WNS was to occur in the UK it could lead to extinction of some bat species. This study gives cautious optimism that P destructans will not cause death in British bats.
- Subjects
PSEUDOGYMNOASCUS destructans; HIBERNACULA (Animal habitations); WHITE-nose syndrome; BAT diseases; BAT mortality; WILDLIFE diseases; DISEASE susceptibility
- Publication
Veterinary Record: Journal of the British Veterinary Association, 2015, Vol 177, Issue 3, p73
- ISSN
0042-4900
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1136/vr.102923