Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, The Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health, Melbourne Veterinary School, The Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
PLoS One. 2018 Oct 10;13(10):e0204282. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204282. eCollection 2018.
Fungi are increasingly being documented as causing disease in a wide range of faunal species, including Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus responsible for white nose syndrome which is having a devastating impact on bats in North America. The population size of the Australian southern bent-winged bat (Miniopterus orianae bassanii), a critically endangered subspecies, has declined over the past 50 years. As part of a larger study to determine whether disease could be a contributing factor to this decline, southern bent-winged bats were tested for the presence of a range of potentially pathogenic fungi: P. destructans, dermatophytes and Histoplasma capsulatum (a potential human pathogen commonly associated with caves inhabited by bats). Results were compared with those obtained for the more common eastern bent-winged bat (M. orianae oceanensis). All bats and their environment were negative for P. destructans. A large number of fungi were found on the skin and fur of bats, most of which were environmental or plant associated, and none of which were likely to be of significant pathogenicity for bats. A 0-19% prevalence of H. capsulatum was detected in the bat populations sampled, but not in the environment, indicative of a low zoonotic risk. Based on the results of this study, fungi are unlikely to be contributing significantly to the population decline of the southern bent-winged bat.
真菌越来越多地被记录为引起广泛动物物种疾病的原因，包括 Pseudogymnoascus destructans，这种真菌是导致北美白鼻综合征的罪魁祸首，对白鼻综合征造成了毁灭性的影响。澳大利亚南部弯翼蝙蝠（Miniopterus orianae bassanii）的数量在过去 50 年中有所下降，这种蝙蝠是一种极度濒危的亚种。作为一项更大的研究的一部分，该研究旨在确定疾病是否是导致这种下降的一个因素，研究人员对南部弯翼蝙蝠进行了一系列潜在致病真菌的检测：P. destructans、皮肤真菌和荚膜组织胞浆菌（一种常见的与蝙蝠栖息的洞穴有关的潜在人类病原体）。结果与更为常见的东部弯翼蝙蝠（M. orianae oceanensis）的结果进行了比较。所有蝙蝠及其环境均未检出 P. destructans。在蝙蝠的皮肤和皮毛上发现了大量真菌，其中大多数与环境或植物有关，没有一种真菌对蝙蝠具有明显的致病性。在所采样的蝙蝠种群中检测到荚膜组织胞浆菌的患病率为 0-19%，但在环境中未检测到，表明其人畜共患病风险较低。根据这项研究的结果，真菌不太可能是导致南部弯翼蝙蝠数量下降的主要原因。
