Bats Fight Back with Probiotic Against White-nose Syndrome

0:00White nose syndrome, caused by the PD fungus, has wiped out millions of bats across North America over the past two decades. This nasty invader, likely brought from Europe by humans, thrives in cool caves where bats hibernate, eating their skin and forcing them to wake up. Early burning fat reserves and leading to starvation. It's hit 46 U.S. states in all 10 Canadian provinces, collapsing over 90% of three batspecies in Canada, now listed as endangered. In British Columbia, 7-15 batspecies can get sick from it, but so far no major die-offs because bats here hibernate in smaller groups or not, all winter long. Officials track it through wing swabs, dead bat reports, and guano samples from over 300 roofs yearly, finding healthy populations last year with PDE. First body near Grand Forks in 2022, and Delta early 2023. A new study shows it's been lurking in Western Canada longer than thought. Researchers developed a probiotic from bacteria on healthy BC bats that fights PDE before infection

1:05hits. They sprayed it on Roos since 2019, seeing lower fungus levels and no deaths were applied. On Micah Control Site in Washington, wiped out by 98%, bats even spread in naturally by hanging out. Now an outbreak in Northern Idaho threatens BC. Sass taste in, valley bat haven, so experts push for quick probiotic roll out this summer, and funding's tight with no provincial commitment yet. Meanwhile, monitoring ramps up as PDE evolves to warmer temps, buying time to save these insect-munching heroes before it's too late. Stay informed with Canada News today, AI-powered updates. I'm Corey with The Story.