Emerging infectious diseases in wildlife are an increasing threat to global biodiversity. White-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats is one of the most recently emerged infectious diseases in North America, causing massive declines in eastern bat populations. In the Northeast, winter behavior of bats during the hibernation period, such as flying during the day or in cold weather, has been attributed to WNS. However, winter emergence of bats in the southeastern United States, where winters are warmer, has received little attention. The goals of this study were to determine if winter emergence results from infection by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative pathogen of WNS, and to investigate how pathogen load and prevalence vary by species, site, and over time. We collected epidermal swab samples from 871 active bats of 10 species captured outside of hibernacula in Tennessee during winters 2012–2013 and 2013–2014. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from P. destructans was not detected on 54% of these bats, suggesting that winter emergence occurs regardless of fungal infection. Among infected bats, Perimyotis subflavus (tri-colored bats) had the highest mean fungal load, whereas Myotis lucifugus (little brown bats) had the highest infection prevalence of all individuals captured. Less than 18% (n = 59 of 345 individuals sampled) of all M. grisescens (gray bats) captured had detectible P. destructans DNA on their forearms and muzzle. Hibernacula with large M. grisescens populations had lower fungal loads than sites used by other species; however, mean load per species did not significantly differ between M. grisescens and non-M. grisescens sites. We found that pathogen load and prevalence were higher on bats captured during winter 2012–2013 than in the following winter, indicating that fungal loads on bats did not increase the longer a site was presumably contaminated. Repeated low-dose exposure, mild temperatures, and availability of prey during winter in the Southeast may provide a regional refuge for surviving bat populations.

中文翻译：

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美国东南部冬季从洞中冒出来的蝙蝠上的白鼻综合症真菌Pseudogymnoascus destructans

野生生物中的新发传染病对全球生物多样性的威胁越来越大。蝙蝠的白鼻综合症（WNS）是北美最近出现的传染病之一，导致东部蝙蝠种群大量减少。在东北地区，蝙蝠在冬眠期间的冬季行为（例如白天飞行或在寒冷天气中飞行）归因于WNS。但是，蝙蝠在冬天越热的美国东南部出现越冬，却鲜有受到关注。这项研究的目的是确定冬季爆发是否是由WNS的致病性病原体Pseudogymnoascus destructans感染引起的，并调查了病原体负荷和流行程度随物种，地点和时间的变化而变化。在2012-2013年和2013-2014年冬季，我们从田纳西州冬眠虫之外的10个物种的871个活动蝙蝠中收集了表皮拭子样本。在这些蝙蝠中有54％的蝙蝠中均未检测到来自腐烂假单胞菌的脱氧核糖核酸（DNA），这表明无论真菌感染如何，冬季都出现了蝙蝠。在被感染的蝙蝠中，黄褐色的Perimyotis subflavus（三色蝙蝠）的平均真菌载量最高，而在捕获的所有个体中，Myotis lucifugus（小棕蝙蝠）的感染率最高。所捕获的所有灰霉菌（灰色蝙蝠）中只有不到18％（抽样的345个人中的n = 59）在其前臂和枪口上具有可检测的腐烂疟原虫DNA。禾本科分支杆菌（M. grisescens）种群的冬虫夏草的真菌载量比其他物种使用的地方低。但是，M之间每个物种的平均负载没有显着差异。grisescens和非M。grisescens网站。我们发现，2012-2013年冬季捕获的蝙蝠的病原体负荷和患病率高于下一个冬季，这表明蝙蝠的真菌负荷不会随着污染地点的增加而增加。东南部冬季反复反复低剂量接触，适度的温度和猎物的可用性可能为蝙蝠种群的生存提供一个区域避难所。