Since 2006 a fungal disease has killed millions of bats across North America. A Kalamazoo researcher is working to reverse that decline.
Maarten Vonhof is a biology professor at Western Michigan University. He says the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome can’t handle a particular kind of ultraviolet light in the lab. So Vonhof, and researchers from Rutgers and Ball State Universities, are bringing UV lights to the caves where bats live.
“We go to the hibernation sites when the bats aren't present. So, we go during the summertime, and we use these whole room ultraviolet light sanitizers that are used in hospitals to sanitize them from bacteria and fungi.”
Then, he says, they use handheld ultraviolet lights to shine into cracks and crevices. They expect to know in the spring whether the treatments are helping.
