Researchers examine how environmental reservoirs influence infection patterns and population impacts in white nose syndrome. Pathogens persisting in the environment can amplify infectious disease outbreaks, but the influence of environmental reservoir dynamics remains largely unexplored. Joseph Hoyt and colleagues quantified changes in the environmental reservoir of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungal pathogen that causes white nose syndrome in bats, at 101 subterranean sites where bats hibernate and combined the data with population surveys and transmission data from 39 species across the globe. An extensive and persistent environmental reservoir led to earlier and more severe infections and high mortality in North America. In contrast, low levels of P. destructans in the environment resulted in delayed, less severe infections and stable populations across Eurasia. The authors found that bats in North America became immediately infected upon returning to a heavily contaminated environmental reservoir in early winter, which increased infection levels and mortality rate. In contrast, most bats in Eurasia became infected later in winter and survived until spring, when they could emerge from hibernation and clear infection. The findings suggest that hosts found in areas with high levels of pathogen in the environment suffer from increased disease-related mortality, according to the authors.
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Article #19-14794: "Environmental reservoir dynamics predict global infection patterns and population impacts for the fungal disease white-nose syndrome," by Joseph R. Hoyt et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joseph Hoyt, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA; tel: 518-965-7120; email: hoytjosephr@gmail.com
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences