KBIA Local
(2010-04-19)
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SPRINGFIELD, MO
(KBIA) -
A disease that's killed between one and two million bats in eastern states has found its way to Missouri. Michele Skalicky has more from Springfield.
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White Nose Syndrome is a fungus that gets on a bat's face, ears and wings and deeply invades their skin tissues.
Biologists aren't entirely sure how it's spread, but it's believed to be thru bat-to-bat contact and has not been found to infect humans or other animals. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the disease on a bat in a private-owned cave in Pike County.
Bill Elliott, cave biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, says the loss of bats would mean a lot more insects in the state.
"If we lose a lot of our bats, and that's a distinct possibility, we're going to see less mosquito control by bats, we're going to see possibly more pests on row crops and on forests."
Elliott says it's hard to predict how significant the impact will be in Missouri, but he says research from other states that have been affected isn't encouraging. Steps are being taken to try to minimize the impact.
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