Wild Bat White-Nose Syndrome Treatment

White-nose syndrome has killed millions of North American bats — emerging treatments offer hope for populations experiencing severe welfare losses from this fungal disease.

Key Facts

White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has killed an estimated 6.7 million North American bats since 2006.
The fungus grows on the muzzle, ears, and wing membranes of hibernating bats, causing them to arouse repeatedly and deplete fatal fat reserves.
Little brown bat populations in the northeastern USA have declined by over 90% since WNS arrived.
Probiotic bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens) applied to bat fur or hibernacula surfaces have shown protective effects in field trials.
North American bat species appear to lack the disease tolerance evolved in European bats, which survive Pd infection at lower disease rates.

Welfare Considerations

White-nose syndrome causes a prolonged welfare tragedy for individual bats. Infected bats arouse repeatedly from hibernation — burning through their fat reserves in futile bouts of activity during the winter period when no food is available. They emerge emaciated and weakened, many dying outside hibernacula from starvation and cold. Millions of bats have experienced this death since 2006. Treatment advances — particularly probiotic interventions — offer the first genuine hope for reducing population-level suffering while populations rebuild resistance.

What You Can Do

Support bat conservation organisations working on WNS treatment research and hibernacula management.
Install bat boxes to provide roosting habitat for recovering populations in areas with WNS-affected species.
Donate to field trials of probiotic and other WNS treatment approaches that could protect surviving populations.
Advocate for increased funding for bat disease research given the scale of population losses from WNS.