Decline In Bat Population Might Have Increased Infant Mortality Rate, Study Says

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to a study published in the journal Science, the decline in bat population might be contributing to the rising infant mortality rates in the U.S.

The connection stems from the outbreak of white-nose syndrome, which began killing bat population in North America in 2006. The deadly fungus forced farmers to use chemical pesticides in large quantities.

'When insect-eating bat populations declined in the United States, farmers responded,' Eyal Frank, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy and the study's author.

'And they compensate with more insecticides to make up for the loss in biological pest control. However, that results in adverse health consequences because pesticides are toxic compounds by design.'

During the study, Frank noted that the use of pesticides in counties affected by the bat decline increased by about 31 percent following the outbreak, compared to those counties unaffected by bat die-offs.

Meanwhile, he also found that the infected counties reported an infant death rate of 7.9 percent, leading to an estimated 1,334 additional deaths.

To rule out potential causes for rise in infant deaths, Frank considered factors such as unemployment, the opioid epidemic, the weather, differences among mothers, or the introduction of genetically modified crops. However, the exact link between increased insecticide use and higher infant mortality remained unclear.

'A lot of papers that try to link pesticides to outcomes are correlational in nature,' Environmental economist Charles Taylor from the Harvard Kennedy School, who was not involved in the study, said to The Guardian. 'People who are exposed to more pesticides, for example, might have other risk factors - like, farm workers are exposed to a whole host of other socioeconomic risks that could explain why there might be different health outcomes.'

'I can't pinpoint the direct exposure mechanism,' Frank added, 'but my findings do not support the idea that exposure through food is the primary cause.'

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