Wildlife Disease and One Health

The Disease Decision Analysis and Research group is a multi-disciplinary team based out of the Eastern Ecological Science Center whose strengths are in ecology, decision sciences and quantitative modeling.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27th, 2020, to aid response efforts and ease the economic impact of COVID-19. The Department of the Interior received funds to “prevent, prepare for, and response to coronavirus, domestically or internationally including, “biosurveillance of wildlife and environmental persistence studies.” The USGS...

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...

Eastern Ecological Science Center adds the decision analytical skill set to the existing body of USGS expertise on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), in support of our sister DOI agencies.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is known to infect and cause severe disease, such as respiratory distress and death, in mustelids, including farm-raised mink ( Mustela  lutreola and  Neovison  vison) and domestic ferrets ( M. putorius). This raised concern that the virus may also pose a threat to endangered black-footed ferrets ( Mustela nigripes) managed in captivity for breeding and recovery purposes.

The Asian Flyways Collaborative for Waterbirds (AFCoW) is a collaborative group effort that brings together research scientists engaged in understanding waterbird ecology in Eastern Asia. Due to the complexity of waterbird biology and unique threats to their populations in East Asia, we have established a voluntary international network of collaborators to promote advanced studies of large-scale...

Avian influenza is a viral disease caused by various strains of avian influenza viruses that can be classified as low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) or highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). It remains a global disease with potential high consequence with the potential to threaten wildlife, agriculture, and human health.

Title of Study Plan: Residual toxicity testing and chemical characterization of ballast water following treatment with NaOH, sparging with scrubbed marine diesel engine exhaust, and aeration

Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America, with about 300,000 cases per year in the U.S. We are studying transmission of the spirochete that causes this disease among wild animals and the blacklegged tick vectors, to determine why Lyme disease is common in the northeast and northern Midwest but rare in the south, even though blacklegged ticks are present in all of...

Disease in amphibian populations can have a range of effects, from devastating declines following introduction of a novel pathogen to recurring breakout events on a landscape. Elucidating mechanisms underlying the effects of diseases on amphibian populations is crucial to help managers make appropriate decisions to achieve management goals for amphibians.

This project seeks to improve our understanding of how domestic ducks move throughout the market chain in China and the role this may play in the amplification and spread of avian influenza viruses.