Disease Management Tools

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious and fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting cervids (deer, elk, caribou, and moose) that is threatening the health and sustainability of cervid populations across North America. CWD is caused by misfolded proteins known as prions, which can be transmitted by direct contact or environmental exposure. The USGS National Wildlife Health Center conducts...

Managing white-tailed deer populations is a major challenge for wildlife agencies across the Midwest, with implications for crop damage, vehicle collisions, and the spread of diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD). This six-year, multistate field experiment tests evidence-based behavioral strategies to increase hunter and landowner participation in deer management. The project will provide...

Vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus) are the primary spreader of rabies, a lethal disease that harms livestock and people across Latin America. Growth of the livestock industry and environmental changes in this region are leading to the expansion of vampire bats’ habitat range, and it is considered likely this species will move into the southern United States.

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center works with federal, state, Tribal, and other partners to develop practical scientific tools and information to help wildlife managers and other decision-makers prevent, prepare for, and respond to wildlife disease threats. These tools range from direct disease-management interventions—such as vaccines and treatment approaches for invasive species—to...

WHISPers, the Wildlife Health Information Sharing Partnership - event reporting system, is a web-based repository of basic information on current and historic wildlife mortality (death) and/or morbidity (illness) events reported by partners nationwide. It is also the portal to request diagnostic and epidemiologic services from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) provides quantitative support and technical assistance to state and federal wildlife managers and partners to better understand or predict the impact of disease on wildlife populations.

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) works on developing various disease management tools, including the development of vaccines. Our current work focuses on vaccines for sylvatic plague, white-nose syndrome, and rabies as disease control strategies.

To provide the next generation of wildlife disease tools, that can move past detection and documentation and towards solutions for wildlife disease problems, the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is developing a suite of new or adapted technology. Primarily, these technologies focus on three areas of improvement in the realm of wildlife disease: prediction and prevention, surveillance for...