Just make sure you wipe your feet before entering the bat cave.
"Illness killing bats is traced to Europe" April 10, 2012
LOS ANGELES - The mysterious deaths of millions of bats in the United States and Canada over the past several years were caused by a fungus that was brought in from Europe, scientists reported Monday.
Researchers had suspected that an invasive species was to blame for the die-off from “white nose syndrome.’’ Now there is direct evidence the culprit was not native to North America.
The findings were reported online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The fungal illness has not caused widespread deaths among European bats. In North America more than 5.7 million bats have died since 2006 when white nose syndrome was first detected in a cave in upstate New York. The disease does not pose a threat to humans.
That's a genocide.
It’s unclear exactly how the fungus crossed the Atlantic, but one possibility is that it was accidentally introduced by tourists. Spores are known to stick to people’s clothes, boots, and caving gear.
PFFFT!
White nose syndrome has killed bats in four Canadian provinces and 19 US states, mostly in the Northeast and South. Last week, the illness marched west of the Mississippi River, infecting bats in Missouri.
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Related: Fungus faulted in deaths of 1m bats
Fungus, virus suspected in collapse of bee colonies
Harvard study finds common pesticide kills bees
If that were true wouldn't this problem have been occurring for decades?
New evidence justifies ban on pesticide that endangers bees
It's what we call a limited hangout when it relates to covert intelligence agency operations, folks.
Also see: Globe Building a Better Bee
