National Wildlife Health Center Newsletter - Spring 2024
Stay up-to-date on our wildlife health research and activities.
Stay up-to-date on our wildlife health research and activities.
Planning underway for a new NWHC Facility
Learn more about the process and how to get involved.
Learn more about the process and how to get involved.
Wildlife Health Information Sharing Partnership event reporting system
View current and historic information on wildlife morbidity and mortality events in North America.
View current and historic information on wildlife morbidity and mortality events in North America.
Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease
Track the spread of chronic wasting disease in North America.
Track the spread of chronic wasting disease in North America.
Pathology Case of the Month
Notable wildlife mortality cases at the NWHC are highlighted in the Pathology Case of the Month series.
Notable wildlife mortality cases at the NWHC are highlighted in the Pathology Case of the Month series.
National Wildlife Health Center
Welcome to the National Wildlife Health Center! Our mission is to advance wildlife health science for the benefit of animals, humans, and the environment.
Explore SCIENCE to learn more about wildlife diseases, ongoing projects, the Honolulu Field Station, and our services.
Explore WEB TOOLS to access WHISPers, wildlife health bulletins, our field manual, and more.
Honolulu Field Station
Honolulu Field Station
The NWHC HFS provides support to the natural resource communities of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin in the investigation of wildlife diseases.
News
Pathology Case of the Month - Mountainous Star Coral
Pathology Case of the Month - Mountainous Star Coral
Pathology Case of the Month - Sea Otter
Pathology Case of the Month - Sea Otter
Pathology Case of the Month - Little Brown Bat
Pathology Case of the Month - Little Brown Bat
Publications
Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection
It has been proposed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that spread through human populations as a pandemic originated in Asian bats. There is concern that infected humans could transmit the virus to native North American bats; therefore, the susceptibility of several North American bat species to the pandemic virus has been experimentally assessed. Big bro
Sero-epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza viruses among wild birds in subarctic intercontinental transition zones
Background: The geographic expansion and evolution of A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996(H5N1) (Gs/GD) lineage H5Nx highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses since 1996 have raised awareness of enzootic circulation among migratory birds and the potential for intercontinental transport and spread. Recent Pacific- and Atlantic-route introductions of HPAI to North America were facilitated by avian migra
Hirsutonosema embarrassi n. gen. n. sp. (Phylum Microsporidia) in the Ovary of Mucket (Actinonaias ligamentina), Plain Pocketbook (Lampsilis cardium), and Fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) (Unionidae) from the Embarrass River, Wisconsin, USA
During an epidemiological survey following a mortality event of freshwater mussels in 2018 in the Embarrass River, Wisconsin, USA, we identified a novel microsporidian parasite in the ovaries of mucket (Actinonaias ligamentina), plain pocketbook (Lampsilis cardium), and fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) (Unionidae). Histopathology showed round-to-oval microsporidian spores in the cytoplasm of oocy
Science
Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 35 US states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 35 states and four provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 19 states and three provinces.
Diagnostic Case Submission Guidelines
Standard submission criteria for federal, state, and tribal natural resource agency partners The National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) conducts laboratory diagnostics to determine causes of wildlife morbidity and mortality events. The following guidelines are used to determine which cases we accept for diagnostic evaluation. NWHC only accepts submissions from, or in coordination with, federal...
Interagency coordination on coral health
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) supports coral health through participation in two interagency coordination bodies, the Florida Disturbance Advisory Committee, which is focused on joint management of the Florida Coral Reef Tract, and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, which is focused on joint management of reef resources within U.S. Territories in both the Caribbean and Pacific.