Loss of bats to lethal fungus linked to 1,300 child deaths in US, study says

From 2006, white-nose syndrome began wiping out bat colonies – which eat many crop-eating pests – in the US. Photograph: Joel Sartore Photography/Alamy

In 2006, a deadly fungus started killing bat colonies across the United States. Now, an environmental economist has linked their loss to the deaths of more than 1,300 children.

The study, published in Science on Thursday, found that farmers dramatically increased pesticide use after the bat die-offs, which was in turn linked to an average infant mortality increase of nearly 8%. Unusually, the research suggests a causative link between human and bat wellbeing.