Host and pathogen ecology drive the seasonal dynamics of a fungal disease, white-nose syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Seasonal patterns in pathogen transmission can influence the impact of disease on populations and the speed of spatial spread. Increases in host contact rates or births drive seasonal epidemics in some systems, but other factors may occasionally override these influences. White-nose syndrome, caused by the emerging fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is spreading across North America and threatens several bat species with extinction. We examined patterns and drivers of seasonal transmission of P. destructans by measuring infection prevalence and pathogen loads in six bat species at 30 sites across the eastern United States. Bats became transiently infected in autumn, and transmission spiked in early winter when bats began hibernating. Nearly all bats in six species became infecte

SUBMITTER: Langwig KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4286034 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature