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SARS-CoV-2 and North American Wildlife

In partnership with CDC, we are working to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and the diversity of other coronaviruses in North American wildlife.

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Detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 in an Exhibition Farm in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

New Wildlife Health Bulletin Released

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African Swine Fever Detected in Dominican Republic

New Wildlife Health Bulletin Released

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Save the Date: 2022 Wildlife Disease Association Conference

July 23-29, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin

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Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Track the spread of chronic wasting disease in North America.

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Wildlife Health Information Sharing Partnership event reporting system

View current and historic information on wildlife morbidity or mortality events in North America.

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Pathology Case of the Month

Notable wildlife mortality cases at the NWHC are highlighted in the Pathology Case of the Month series.

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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 services.

Explore WEB TOOLS to access WHISPers, wildlife health bulletins, our field manual, and more.

Index of Wildlife Disease Information Resources

Disease Investigation Services

Red-winged blackbird necropsy

Report mortality events and submit specimens.

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Wildlife Health Research Highlights

NDV Study in cormorants

Learn more about our current research projects.

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Honolulu Field Station

Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

The NWHC HFS provides support to the natural resource communities of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin in the investigation of wildlife diseases.

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News

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Pathology Case of the Month - Eastern Gray Squirrel

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Pathology Case of the Month - Wild Turkeys

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The USGS One Health Approach to Wildlife Disease and Environmental Change

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Publications

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is an emerging disease threat to wild birds in North America

Prior to the emergence of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) H5N1 influenza A virus, the long-held and well-supported paradigm was that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks were restricted to poultry, the result of cross-species transmission of precursor viruses from wild aquatic birds that subsequently gained pathogenicity in domestic birds. Therefore, management agencies typicall
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Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center

A novel gonadotropic microsporidian parasite (Microsporidium clinchi n. sp.) infecting a declining population of pheasantshell mussels (Actinonaias pectorosa) (Unioinidae) from the Clinch River, USA

Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida are among the most endangered animal groups globally, but the causes of their population decline are often enigmatic, with little known about the role of disease. In 2018, we collected wild adult pheasantshell (Actinonaias pectorosa) and mucket (Actinonaias ligamentina) during an epidemiologic survey investigating an ongoing mussel mass mortality event in t
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Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Low occurrence of multi-antimicrobial and heavy metal resistance in Salmonella enterica from wild birds in the United States

Wild birds are common reservoirs of Salmonella enterica. Wild birds carrying resistant S. enterica may pose a risk to public health as they can spread the resistant bacteria across large spatial scales within a short time. Here, we whole-genome sequenced 375 S. enterica strains from wild birds collected in 41 U.S. states during 1978–2019 to examine bacterial resistance to antibiotics and heavy met
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Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center
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Science

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Map of North America showing locations where chronic wasting disease has been detected.

Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 28 US states and four Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 27 states and three provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
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Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
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Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 28 US states and four Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 27 states and three provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
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Gray sphere surrounded by red spikes on outer surface of virus.

SARS-CoV-2 in Wildlife

As SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, continues to spread globally, questions have emerged about the potential for humans to transmit the virus to North American wildlife, its potential effects on native wildlife populations, and the resultant possibility and consequences of establishing a persistent wildlife reservoir. Recent studies have detected SARS-CoV-2 in escaped or wild...
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Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
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SARS-CoV-2 in Wildlife

As SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, continues to spread globally, questions have emerged about the potential for humans to transmit the virus to North American wildlife, its potential effects on native wildlife populations, and the resultant possibility and consequences of establishing a persistent wildlife reservoir. Recent studies have detected SARS-CoV-2 in escaped or wild...
Learn More
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Cluster of bats on a cave wall.

Field trials for testing of white-nose syndrome vaccine candidates

White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), continues to decimate bat populations in North America, and efforts to develop treatment options have intensified. One potential method for controlling WNS is vaccination of bats with specific antigens to elicit a protective immune response.
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Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
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Field trials for testing of white-nose syndrome vaccine candidates

White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), continues to decimate bat populations in North America, and efforts to develop treatment options have intensified. One potential method for controlling WNS is vaccination of bats with specific antigens to elicit a protective immune response.
Learn More
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