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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

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High rates of detection of Clade 2.3.4.4 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5 viruses in wild birds in the Pacific Northwest during the winter of 2014-2015

In 2014, Clade 2.3.4.4 H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses spread across the Republic of Korea and ultimately were reported in China, Japan, Russia and Europe. Mortality associated with a reassortant HPAI H5N2 virus was detected in poultry farms in Western Canada at the end of November. The same strain (with identical genetic structure) was then detected in free-living wild birds
Authors
Hon S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Mia Kim Torchetti, Paul DeBruyn, Kristin G. Mansfield, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Jonathan M. Sleeman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in wild birds during outbreaks in domestic poultry, Minnesota, 2015

In 2015, a major outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) infection devastated poultry facilities in Minnesota, USA. To clarify the role of wild birds, we tested 3,139 waterfowl fecal samples and 104 sick and dead birds during March 9–June 4, 2015. HPAIV was isolated from a Cooper’s hawk but not from waterfowl.
Authors
Christopher S. Jennelle, Michelle Carstensen, Erik C. Hildebrand, Louis Cornicelli, Paul C. Wolf, Daniel A. Grear, Hon S. Ip, Kaci K. VanDalen, Larissa A. Minicucci
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Survey for West Nile virus antibodies in wild ducks, 2004-06, USA

Detection of West Nile virus (WNV) in ducks has been reported in North America in isolated cases of mortality in wild waterbirds and following outbreaks in farmed ducks. Although the virus has been noted as an apparent incidental finding in several species of ducks, little is known about the prevalence of exposure or the outcome of infection with WNV in wild ducks in North America. From 2004–06, w
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Mark D. Jankowski, Diana R. Goldberg, J. Christian Franson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Toxoplasma gondii antibody prevalence and two new genotypes of the parasite in endangered Hawaiian Geese (nene: Branta sandvicensis)

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite transmitted by domestic cats (Felis catus) that has historically caused mortality in native Hawaiian birds. To estimate how widespread exposure to the parasite is in nene (Hawaiian Geese, Branta sandvicensis), we did a serologic survey for T. gondii antibody and genetically characterized parasite DNA from the tissues of dead birds that had confirmed infect
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Shiv K. Verma, Chunlei Su, John Medeiros, Thomas Kaiakapu, Oliver C. Kwok, Jitender P. Dubey
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Susceptibility and antibody response of Vesper Sparrows (Pooecetes gramineus) to West Nile virus: A potential amplification host in sagebrush-grassland habitat

West Nile virus (WNV) spread to the US western plains states in 2003, when a significant mortality event attributed to WNV occurred in Greater Sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). The role of avian species inhabiting sagebrush in the amplification of WNV in arid and semiarid regions of the North America is unknown. We conducted an experimental WNV challenge study in Vesper Sparrows ( Pooecet
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Robert J. Dusek, Carol Fassbinder-Orth, Benjamin Owen, J. Christian Franson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Limited evidence of intercontinental dispersal of avian paramyxovirus serotype 4 by migratory birds

Avian paramyxovirus serotype 4 (APMV-4) is a single stranded RNA virus that has most often been isolated from waterfowl. Limited information has been reported regarding the prevalence, pathogenicity, and genetic diversity of AMPV-4. To assess the intercontinental dispersal of this viral agent, we sequenced the fusion gene of 58 APMV-4 isolates collected in the United States, Japan and the Ukraine
Authors
Andrew B. Reeves, Rebecca L. Poulson, Denys Muzyka, Haruko Ogawa, Kunitoshi Imai, Vuong Nghia Bui, Jeffrey S. Hall, Mary Pantin-Jackwood, David E. Stallknecht, Andrew M. Ramey
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Alaska Science Center

Optimized methods for total nucleic acid extraction and quantification of the bat white-nose syndrome fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, from swab and environmental samples

The continued spread of white-nose syndrome and its impacts on hibernating bat populations across North America has prompted nationwide surveillance efforts and the need for high-throughput, noninvasive diagnostic tools. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis has been increasingly used for detection of the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, in both bat- and e
Authors
Michelle Verant, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses and generation of novel reassortants,United States, 2014–2015

Asian highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses spread into North America in 2014 during autumn bird migration. Complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 32 H5 viruses identified novel H5N1, H5N2, and H5N8 viruses that emerged in late 2014 through reassortment with North American low-pathogenicity avian influenza viruses.
Authors
Dong-Hun Lee, Justin Bahl, Mia Kim Torchetti, Mary Lea Killian, Hon S. Ip, David E Swayne
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Spatial variation in risk and consequence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans introduction in the USA

A newly identified fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), is responsible for mass mortality events and severe population declines in European salamanders. The eastern USA has the highest diversity of salamanders in the world and the introduction of this pathogen is likely to be devastating. Although data are inevitably limited for new pathogens, disease-risk assessments use bes
Authors
Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, M. J. Adams, C. LeAnn White, Evan H. Campbell Grant
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Survival of female mallards along the Vermont-Quebec border region

Understanding effects of location and timing of harvest seasons on mortality of ducks and geese from hunting is important in forming regulations that sustain viable waterfowl populations throughout their range. During 1990 and 1991 we alternately marked 80 hatching year (HY), female mallards along the Vermont–Quebec border; half with radio-transmitters and bands and half with only aluminum leg ban
Authors
Jerry R. Longcore, Daniel G. McAuley, Dennis M. Heisey, Christine M. Bunck, David A. Clugston
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly wildlife mortality report July 2015 to September 2015

No abstract available.
Authors
Anne Ballmann, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Robert J. Dusek, Daniel A. Grear, Jennifer G. Chipault, Michelle Magagna
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies

The recently (2013) identified pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), poses a severe threat to the distribution and abundance of salamanders within the United States and Europe. Development of a response strategy for the potential, and likely, invasion of Bsal into the United States is crucial to protect global salamander biodiversity. A formal working group, led by A
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Rachel A. Katz, Stefano Canessa, M. J. Adams, Jennifer R. Ballard, Lee Berger, Cheryl J. Briggs, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Harris, Reid N. Harris, Blake R. Hossack, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Jonathan E. Kolby, Karen R. Lips, Robert E. Lovich, Hamish I. McCallum, Joseph R. Mendelson, Priya Nanjappa, Deanna H. Olson, Jenny G. Powers, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Mary Kay Watry, Douglas C. Woodhams, C. LeAnn White
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
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