A fungus that causes a disease that is often deadly to bats, white-nose syndrome, has been found in the Tri-Cities area for the first time.
The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife has known that the disease is in the state since the first case of white-nose syndrome in the western United States was confirmed in King County in 2016.
Since then it has confirmed 150 cases in four bat species in the state, including Lewis County.
The fungus or cases of the disease have now been found in 10 counties, with Benton County the farthest east in the state.
Scientists with the state worked with the U.S. Department of Energy and a bat rehabilitator on surveys that found the fungus in Benton County and the disease in Jefferson County for the first time.
Although information was not immediately available on where the fungus was found in Benton County, DOE's Hanford nuclear reservation site has a colony of more than 2,000 bats that roost from mid-March to mid-October in an underground concrete structure once used to hold water from the Columbia River before it was used at F Reactor.
At the urging of public agencies and wildlife groups, the structure, called a clearwell, was not removed during environmental cleanup to allow the bat colony to thrive. The clearwell has no chemical or radioactive contamination.
White-nose syndrome is caused by a fungus that attacks the skin of hibernating bats and damages their delicate wings, making flying difficult.
Infected bats leave hibernation too early. They deplete their fat reserves and become dehydrated or starve to death.
Bats are valuable members of the ecosystem, with a single colony of bats able to consume tons of insects. Fish and Wildlife says bats save U.S. farmers more than $3 billion a year in pest control costs.
The bats at the Hanford clearwell near the Columbia River feed on mosquitoes and midges that are plentiful there.
They are Yuma myotis, one of four bat species that have been infected with white nose syndrome in Washington state.
White-nose syndrome is not known to sicken people, livestock or wildlife.
The fungi is mostly spread between bats, but fungal spores also can be carried by people on their clothing, shoes or recreation equipment.
The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife urges people not to to handle wild animals, including bats, especially if they appear sick or are found dead.
Bats that are dead or acting strangely, such as flying in the winter, should be reported to the state agency at 360-902-2515. A dead bat in Walla Walla County tested positive earlier this month for rabies.
