National Wildlife Health Center
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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 Data and Tools to use WHISPers, wildlife bulletins, our field manual, CWD surveillance app, and more.
Science Spotlight: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2) has been confirmed for the first time in wild rabbits in the United States.
Learn MoreHonolulu Field Station
The NWHC HFS provides support to the natural resource communities of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin in the investigation of wildlife diseases.
Learn MoreNews
Pathology Case of the Month - Big Brown Bat
Case History: An adult male big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) from Wisconsin, USA was submitted for necropsy. There were no reported clinical signs.
New study finds SARS-CoV-2 infection in escaped mink in Utah
Evidence of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been found in escaped farmed mink in Utah, according to a new study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Pathology Case of the Month - Mallard Ducks
Case History: In December 2020, a waterfowl mortality event involving approximately 125 mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) was reported in Idaho, USA.
Publications
SARS-CoV-2 exposure in escaped mink, Utah, USA
In August 2020, outbreaks of coronavirus disease were confirmed on mink farms in Utah, USA. We surveyed mammals captured on and around farms for evidence of infection or exposure. Free-ranging mink, presumed domestic escapees, exhibited high antibody titers, suggesting a potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission...
Shriner, Susan A.; Ellis, Jeremeny E.; Root, J. Jeffrey; Roug, Annette; Stopak, Scott R.; Wiscomb, Gerald W.; Zierenberg, Jared R.; Ip, Hon S.; Torchetti, Mia K.; DeLiberto, Thomas J. Laboratory maintenance and culture of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes bat white-nose syndrome
Pseudogymnoascus destructans is a fungal pathogen that causes white‐nose syndrome, an emerging and fatal disease of North American bats that has led to unprecedented population declines. As a psychrophile, P. destructans is adapted to infect bats during winter hibernation, when host metabolic activity and core body temperature are...
Blehert, David S.; Lorch, Jeffrey M. Space matters: Host spatial structure and the dynamics of plague transmission
The development of models to elucidate the transmission pathways and dynamics of wildlife diseases remains challenging. Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (Yp), is an infectious zoonotic disease that primarily affects wild rodents, including prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in North America. Proposed transmission...
Russell, Robin E.; Walsh, Daniel P.; Samuel, Michael D.; Grunnill, Martin S.; Rocke, Tonie E.