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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: 1634

Morphological, elemental, and boron isotopic insights into pathophysiology of diseased coral growth anomalies

Growth anomalies (GAs) impact both coral skeleton and soft tissues and are detrimental to reef health. This tumor-like disease is increasingly found throughout the tropics and is commonly associated with high human population density, yet little is known about the etiology, pathology, or calcification behavior of the disease. Here, we investigate potential mechanisms involved in the...
Authors
Erik Andersson, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Thierry M. Work, Cheryl M. Woodley, Tracey B. Schock, Russell D. Day
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Effects of climate change on plague exposure pathways and resulting disease dynamics

Introduction and Objectives: Sylvatic plague, a zoonotic flea-borne disease, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is relevant to the Department of Defense (DOD), because prairie dogs and other susceptible rodents are present on military installations in several western states. Arthropod-borne diseases, like plague, are thought to be particularly sensitive to local climate conditions...
Authors
Tonie E. Rocke, Robin E. Russell, Michael D. Samuel, Rachel C. Abbott, Julia Poje
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Threats posed by the Fungal Kingdom to humans, wildlife, and agriculture

The Fungal Kingdom includes at least six million eukaryotic species and is remarkable with respect to its profound impact on global health, biodiversity, ecology, agriculture, manufacturing, and biomedical research. Approximately 625 fungal species have been reported to infect vertebrates, 200 of which can be human-associated, either as commensals and members of our microbiome or as...
Authors
Matthew C. Fisher, Sarah J. Gurr, Christina A. Cuomo, David S. Blehert, Hailing Jin, Eva H. Stukenbrock, Jason E. Stajich, Regine Kahmann, Charles Boone, David W. Denning, Neil A. R. Gow, Bruce S. Klein, James W. Kronstad, Donald C. Sheppard, John W. Taylor, Gerard D. Wright, Joseph Heitman, Arturo Casadevall, Leah E. Cowen
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Localized outbreaks of coral disease on Arabian reefs are linked to extreme temperatures and environmental stressors

The Arabian Peninsula borders the hottest reefs in the world, and corals living in these extreme environments can provide insight into the effects of warming on coral health and disease. Here, we examined coral reef health at 17 sites across three regions along the northeastern Arabian Peninsula (Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea) representing a gradient of environmental...
Authors
Greta S. Aeby, Emily Howells, Thierry M. Work, David Abrego, Gareth J. Williams, Lisa M. Wedding, Jamie M. Caldwell, Monica M Moritsch, John Burt
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Long-term survival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans at elevated temperatures

White-nose syndrome is an emerging fungal disease that has devastated hibernating bat populations across eastern North America. The causal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (PD), is a psychrophilic fungus with a known maximal growth temperature of 20 C. Although it is widely speculated that PD is primarily spread between hibernacula by the movement of bats, experimental evidence is...
Authors
Lewis Campbell, Daniel P. Walsh, David S. Blehert, Jeffrey M. Lorch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Flea parasitism and host survival in a plague-relevant system: Theoretical and conservation implications

Plague is a bacterial zoonosis of mammalian hosts and flea vectors. The disease is capable of ravaging rodent populations and transforming ecosystems. Because plague mortality is likely to be predicted by flea parasitism, it is critical to understand vector dynamics. It has been hypothesized that paltry precipitation and reduced vegetative production predispose herbivorous rodents to...
Authors
David A. Eads, Rachel C. Abbott, Dean E. Biggins, Tonie E. Rocke
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, Fort Collins Science Center

Human dimensions considerations in wildlife disease management

In 1943, Aldo Leopold observed that the real problem of wildlife management is not how to handle wildlife, but how to manage humans. As with any other aspect of wildlife management, social sciences can improve understanding the human dimensions of wildlife disease management (WDM). Human activities have accelerated the emergence of wildlife diseases, and human concerns about the...
Authors
Kirsten Leong, Daniel J. Decker
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center

Eradication of peste des petits ruminants and the wildlife-livestock interface

Growing evidence suggests that multiple wildlife species can be infected with peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), with important consequences for the potential maintenance of PPRV in communities of susceptible hosts, and the threat that PPRV may pose to the conservation of wildlife populations and resilience of ecosystems. Significant knowledge gaps in the epidemiology of PPRV...
Authors
Amanda E. Fine, Mathieu Pruvot, Camila Benfield, Alexandre Caron, Giovanni Cattoli, Philippe Chardonnet, Maurizio Dioli, Thomas Dulu, Martin Gilbert, Richard Kock, Juan Lubroth, Jeffery Mariner, Stephane Ostrowski, Satya Parida, Sasan Fereidouni, Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Claudia Schultz, Jean-Jacques Soula, Yves van der Stede, Berhe G. Tekola, Chris Walzer, Steffen Zuther, Feliz Njeumi
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Removal of chronic Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae carrier ewes eliminates pneumonia in a bighorn sheep population

Chronic pathogen carriage is one mechanism that allows diseases to persist in populations. We hypothesized that persistent or recurrent pneumonia in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis ) populations may be caused by chronic carriers of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Mo ). Our experimental approach allowed us to address a conservation need while investigating the role of chronic carriage in disease...
Authors
Tyler Garwood, Chadwick P. Lehman, Daniel P. Walsh, E. Frances Cassirer, Thomas E. Besser, Jonathan A. Jenks
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Clinical presentation and serological responses to natural outbreaks of rabies in a captive colony of common vampire bats

We report mortality events in a group of 123 common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) captured in México and housed for a rabies vaccine efficacy study in Madison, Wisconsin. Bat mortalities occurred in México and Wisconsin, but rabies cases reported herein are only those that occurred after arrival in Madison (n = 15). Bats were confirmed positive for rabies virus (RABV) by the direct...
Authors
Elsa M. Cárdenas-Canales, Crystal M. Gigante, Lauren A. Greenberg, Andres Velasco-Villa, James A. Ellison, Panayampalli S. Satheshkumar, Lex G Medina-Magües, Richard Griesser, Elizabeth Falendysz, Ignacio Amezcua, Jorge E. Osorio, Tonie E. Rocke
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Serosurvey of coyotes (Canis latrans), foxes (Vulpes vulpes, Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and raccoons (Procyon lotor) for exposure to influenza A viruses in the USA

We tested coyote (Canis latrans), fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus, Vulpes vulpes), and raccoon (Procyon lotor) sera for influenza A virus (IAV) exposure. We found 2/139 samples (1 coyote, 1 raccoon) had IAV antibodies and hemagglutination inhibition assays revealed the antibodies to the 2009/2010 H1N1 human pandemic virus or to the 2007 human seasonal H1N1 virus.
Authors
Marit A. Bakken, Sean Nashold, Jeffrey S. Hall
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Differences in antibody responses against Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) suggest differences in virus biology in ChHV5-seropositive green turtles from Hawaii and ChHV5-seropositive green turtles from Florida

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease associated with a herpesvirus (chelonid herpesvirus 5 [ChHV5]) that affects mainly green turtles globally. Understanding the epidemiology of FP has been hampered by a lack of robust serological assays to monitor exposure to ChHV5. This is due in part to an inability to efficiently culture the virus in vitro for neutralization assays. Here, we...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Julie Dagenais, Anna Willimann, George Balazs, Kate Mansfield, Mathias Ackermann
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
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