Deadly bat disease found in Garrett cave Site third in Maryland to be infected by white-nose syndrome - 15th Apr 2011

— CUMBERLAND — Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologists have confirmed that white-nose syndrome has been found in a cave in Garrett County, the third documented case of the disease in Maryland.

The cave serves as an important winter shelter or hibernaculum for hundreds of bats. The disease has caused unprecedented bat mortality across the eastern U.S. Affected bats display a white fungus on their muzzles or other exposed skin.

“This is the second new infected site we’ve documented this year,” said Dan Feller, DNR’s Western Region ecologist. “We now have positive sites in all three Maryland counties with bat hibernacula.”

A survey by volunteer biologists from Frostburg State University, working under the direction of DNR, discovered the newly infected population. Three little brown bats and one tricolored bat submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center tested positive for for the disease.

At an infected site discovered last year in Allegany County, virtually all of the bats were dead, a level of devastation similar to other affected sites in the Northeast. The disease was found in Washington County last month.

“We’re relieved that our surveys found several important hibernating sites still unaffected, including one of the largest populations of eastern small-footed bats remaining in the United States,” said Feller. “But with the spread of this disease having been fast and unrelenting, the future of these sites is uncertain.”

The disease has spread across mines and caves in 14 states and two Canadian provinces, killing more than a million bats. It was first observed at Howe Cave near Albany, N.Y., in 2006. It is caused by a newly discovered cold-weather fungus, Geomyces destructans. Read More