Prevalence and phenology of white-nose syndrome fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bats from Poland

Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), a parasitic fungus (being responsible for a disease known as white-nose syndrome, WNS) that caused mass mortality of cave-dwelling, hibernating bats in North America, appears to be native of Europe, where it also occurs on wintering bats, but no similar outbreaks of WNS have been recorded. Herein, we provide the first account on prevalence and phenology of P. destructans in Poland. Bats were counted once per month, from October or January to May (2010-2013), in an abandoned ore mine in southern Poland. Presence of P. destructans in two samples was confirmed by sequencing of isolated fungal DNA. Observations of phenotypically identical mycosis on bats hibernating at this site in March 2006 are likely to be the first known records of P. destructans from Poland. All Pd-suspected individuals were Myotis myotis with an exception of one Myotis daubentonii. The first Pd-suspected bats were noted in mid-February, but their number was the highest in March, what overlapped with maximum numbers of hibernating M. myotis. The prevalence in March was 7%–27% of M. myotis individuals. No mass mortality of bats was observed in the mine, with only three dead individuals found in the hibernaculum which hosted up to 130 bats, representing 6–7 species.