John Chenger wrote:the jump to IN most certainly seems to indicate it hitched a ride on some dusty coveralls.
Indiana is not outside the range of bats, especially since we have a three + year window of time for mixing of the populations. As the epidemiologists have not yet even determined that the fungus is the pathogen, it seems that we have some conclusion jumping here.
If we're doing science, we have to be open and lay our facts out for all to examine. What western PA sites are clean, and when were they examined? Examined one? Twice? The blowout of the disease in Shindle Mine shows that a single trip could easily miss WNS, prior to full blown infection. According from what I read, Shindle was picked as a control site, and WNS exploded around the researchers in the matter of weeks. A single visit, entering prior to the symptoms visual appearance, would have lead the visitor to conclude the site was clean.
Are we all now the children of Rappuchini?