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Publications

View citations of publications by National Wildlife Health Center scientists since our founding in 1975.  Access to full-text is provided where possible.

Wildlife Health Bulletins

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Wildlife Health Bulletins are distributed to natural resource/conservation agencies to provide and promote information exchange about significant wildlife health threats.

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Wildlife Disease Case Definitions

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Case definitions provide a standardized, science-based set of criteria for diagnosing disease and pathogens. This manual provides case definitions for selected diseases of importance to wildlife in Canada and the United States.

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Additional Resources

Filter Total Items: 1606

Gut content analysis of Lake Michigan waterbirds in years with avian botulism type E mortality, 2010–2012

Waterbird die-offs caused by Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin type E (BoNT/E) have occurred sporadically in the Great Lakes since the late 1960s, with a recent pulse starting in the late 1990s. In recent die-offs, round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) have been implicated as vectors for the transfer of BoNT/E to fish-eating birds due to the round goby invasion history and their importance as prey.
Authors
David A. Essian, Jennifer G. Chipault, Brenda M. Lafrancois, Jill B.K. Leonard
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

No evidence of infection or exposure to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenzas in peridomestic wildlife on an affected poultry facility

We evaluated the potential transmission of avian influenza viruses (AIV) in wildlife species in three settings in association with an outbreak at a poultry facility: 1) small birds and small mammals on a poultry facility that was affected with highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) in April 2015; 2) small birds and small mammals on a nearby poultry facility that was unaffected by HPAIV; and 3) small birds,
Authors
Daniel A. Grear, Robert J. Dusek, Daniel P. Walsh, Jeffrey S. Hall
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Detection of spring viraemia of carp virus in imported amphibians reveals an unanticipated foreign animal disease threat

Global translocation of plants and animals is a well-recognized mechanism for introduction of pathogens into new regions. To mitigate this risk, various tools such as preshipment health certificates, quarantines, screening for specific disease agents and outright bans have been implemented. However, such measures only target known infectious agents and their hosts and may fail to prevent transloca
Authors
Hon S. Ip, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

H9N2 influenza A virus isolated from a Greater White-fronted wild goose (Anser albifrons) in Alaska has a mutation in the PB2 gene, which is associated with pathogenicity in human pandemic 2009 H1N1

We report here the genomic sequence of an H9N2 influenza A virus [A/greater white-fronted goose/Alaska/81081/2008 (H9N2)]. This virus shares ≥99.8% identity with a previously reported virus. Both strains contain a G590S mutation in the polymerase basic 2 (PB2) gene, which is a pathogenicity marker in the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus when combined with R591.
Authors
Andrew B. Reeves, Hon S. Ip
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Genetic variation at the MHC DRB1 locus is similar across Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) colonies regardless of plague history

Yersinia pestis was introduced to North America around 1900 and leads to nearly 100% mortality in prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies during epizootic events, which suggests this pathogen may exert a strong selective force. We characterized genetic diversity at an MHC class II locus (DRB1) in Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) and quantified population genetic structure at the DRB1versus 12 mic
Authors
Kacy R. Cobble, Katy J. Califf, Nathan E. Stone, Megan M. Shuey, Dawn Birdsell, Rebecca E. Colman, James M. Schupp, Maliha Aziz, Roger Van Andel, Tonie E. Rocke, David M. Wagner, Joseph D. Busch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Antigenic characterization of H3 subtypes of avian influenza A viruses from North America

Besides humans, H3 subtypes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) can infect various animal hosts, including avian, swine, equine, canine, and sea mammal species. These H3 viruses are both antigenically and genetically diverse. Here, we characterized the antigenic diversity of contemporary H3 avian IAVs recovered from migratory birds in North America. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed
Authors
Elizabeth Bailey, Li-Pong Long, Nan Zhao, Jeffrey S. Hall, John A Baroch, Jaqueline Nolting, Lucy Senter, Frederick L Cunningham, G Todd Pharr, Larry Hanson, Richard Slemons, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Xiu-Feng Wan
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

A pelagic outbreak of avian cholera in North American gulls: Scavenging as a primary mechanism for transmission?

Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is an endemic disease globally, often causing annual epizootics in North American wild bird populations with thousands of mortalities. From December 2006 to March 2007, an avian cholera outbreak caused mortality in marine birds off the coast of Atlantic Canada, largely centered 300–400 km off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Sca
Authors
Michelle Wille, Scott McBurney, Gregory J. Robertson, Sabine Wilhelm, David S. Blehert, Catherine Soos, Ron Dunphy, Hugh Whitney
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

U.S. Geological Survey science strategy for highly pathogenic avian influenza in wildlife and the environment (2016–2020)

IntroductionThrough the Science Strategy for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Wildlife and the Environment, the USGS will assess avian influenza (AI) dynamics in an ecological context to inform decisions made by resource managers and policymakers from the local to national level. Through collection of unbiased scientific information on the ecology of AI viruses and wildlife hosts in a c
Authors
M. Camille Harris, John M. Pearce, Diann J. Prosser, C. LeAnn White, A. Keith Miles, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, James P. Cronin, Susan De La Cruz, Christine L. Densmore, Thomas W. Doyle, Robert J. Dusek, Joseph P. Fleskes, Paul L. Flint, Gerald F. Guala, Jeffrey S. Hall, Laura E. Hubbard, Randall J. Hunt, Hon S. Ip, Rachel A. Katz, Kevin W. Laurent, Mark P. Miller, Mark D. Munn, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin D. Richards, Robin E. Russell, Joel P. Stokdyk, John Y. Takekawa, Daniel P. Walsh
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Alaska Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Laboratory for Infectious Disease and the Environment

First detection of bat white-nose syndrome in western North America

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease of bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since it was first detected near Albany, NY, in 2006, the fungus has spread across eastern North America, killing unprecedented numbers of hibernating bats. The devastating impacts of WNS on Nearctic bat species are attributed to the likely introduction of P. destructans from Eurasia to naive ho
Authors
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Jonathan M. Palmer, Daniel L. Lindner, Anne Ballmann, Kyle George, Kathryn M. Griffin, Susan Knowles, John R. Huckabee, Katherine H. Haman, Christopher D. Anderson, Penny A. Becker, Joseph B. Buchanan, Jeffrey T. Foster, David S. Blehert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Spatiotemporal distributions of intestinal helminths in female lesser scaup Aythya affinis during spring migration from the upper Midwest, USA

We examined the associations between intestinal helminth infracommunity structure and infection parameters and the age, size, and year and region of collection of 130 female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) during their 2014–2015 spring migrations through the upper Midwest, USA. We identified a total of 647,174 individual helminths from 40 taxa, including 20 trematodes, 14 cestodes, 4 nematodes and 2
Authors
J. C. England, J.M. Levengood, J. M. Osborn, A. P. Yetter, J. M. Kinsella, Rebecca A. Cole, Cory D. Suski, Heath M. Hagy
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Concentrations and spatial patterns of organic contaminants in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs at United States and binational Great Lakes Areas of Concern, 2010–2015

Tree swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, were sampled across the Great Lakes basin in 2010 through 2015 to provide a system-wide assessment of current exposure to organic contaminants. The results provide information identified as critical by regulators to assess the “bird or animal deformity or reproductive problems” beneficial use impairment. Eggs were collected from 69 sites across all 5 Great Lakes
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul Dummer, Diana R. Goldberg, J. Christian Franson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, National Wildlife Health Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Wound repair in Pocillopora

Corals routinely lose tissue due to causes ranging from predation to disease. Tissue healing and regeneration are fundamental to the normal functioning of corals, yet we know little about this process. We described the microscopic morphology of wound repair in Pocillopora damicornis. Tissue was removed by airbrushing fragments from three healthy colonies, and these were monitored daily at the gros
Authors
Jenny Carolina Rodríguez-Villalobos, Thierry M. Work, Luis Eduardo Calderon-Aguileraa
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
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