White-Nose Syndrome: A Deadly Emerging Infectious Disease of Hibernating Bats

In the winter of 2006–2007, thousands of dead bats were found at a single cave in New York. When mortality spread to nearby hibernacula in the winter of 2007–2008, this emerging infectious disease was dubbed “white-nose syndrome” (WNS), for the white fungi noted around the bat’s muzzle. Current estimates suggest that between 5.7 and 6.7 million bats have died thus far (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (2012) News release: North American bat death toll exceeds 5.5 million from white-nose syndrome. http://www.fws.gov/whitenosesyndrome/pdf/WNS_Mortality_2012_NR_FINAL.pdf. Accessed 21 Feb 2012), making this one of the most significant conservation threats to bats in history. The goal of this chapter is to review the current state of knowledge regarding WNS and to highlight areas where further research is needed.