Overview

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is the name used to describe a group of symptoms associated with the deaths of millions of bats in the USA (40 states) and Canada (nine provinces), according to figures from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In some hibernation sites numbers have declined by 80-100% since 2006, when the condition was first identified. There is evidence that the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is also present in four additional states and one Canadian province. In 2024 its westward spread reached California, where the presence of the fungal pathogen suggests the disease could manifest in California’s bats within the next few years.

It is important to note that while the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS), Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has been identified on a number of bats in at least 17 European countries, including the UK, unlike in North America, these findings have not been linked with mass mortalities and WNS has not been confirmed in Europe. It is thought probable that European bats have an evolved resistance to the fungus.

The video Battle For Bats: Surviving White Nose Syndrome shows what is being done in the United States to mitigate the effects of WNS on bat populations.