Dynamics of Rabies Transmission in Vampire Bats (Desmodus rotundus) and Potential for Control Through Vaccination
Research in Response to Florida’s Emerging Stony Coral (scleractinia) Diseases
Understanding and Containing Chronic Wasting Disease
CWD is expanding geographically and increasing in prevalence.
CWD is expanding geographically and increasing in prevalence.
Wildlife Health Information Sharing Partnership – event reporting system (WHISPers)
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 our services.
Explore WEB TOOLS to access WHISPers, wildlife health bulletins, our field manual, and more.
Honolulu Field Station
Honolulu Field Station
The NWHC HFS provides support to the natural resource communities of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin in the investigation of wildlife diseases.
News
A Tale of Two Islands and the Future of an Ocean Sentinel Seabird
A Tale of Two Islands and the Future of an Ocean Sentinel Seabird
USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day: Implications of highly pathogenic avian influenza to ecosystem health
USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day: Implications of highly pathogenic avian influenza to ecosystem health
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Continues to Affect Wild Birds Across All Four U.S. Flyways
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Continues to Affect Wild Birds Across All Four U.S. Flyways
Publications
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on new world screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) myiasis in wildlife Annotated bibliography of scientific research on new world screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) myiasis in wildlife
The New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax; NWS) is a parasitic blowfly that lays its eggs in open wounds of live, warm-blooded animals including livestock, wildlife, and potentially humans. The larvae consume living animal tissue, and if untreated, the infestation can lead to death. Although NWS was eradicated in the United States in 1966, it has been moving northward from its...
The WOAH global wildlife health collaborating centre network (WOAH-WildNet): A coordinated and transformative approach to global wildlife health challenges The WOAH global wildlife health collaborating centre network (WOAH-WildNet): A coordinated and transformative approach to global wildlife health challenges
Wildlife health is integral to functioning, complex ecosystems [1], directly and indirectly influencing the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment [2–4]. Healthy wildlife populations are essential for ecosystem services and are at the heart of the One Health approach [3,4], which aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems...
Small cumulative survival costs of enzootic disease could suppress long-term population size Small cumulative survival costs of enzootic disease could suppress long-term population size
Fungal pathogens can cause epizootics that result in widespread mortality and rapid population declines in some species. However, even in the absence of high disease-induced mortality, enzootic mycoses could have large-scale impacts on host population dynamics. Here, we examined the effects of ophidiomycosis, an enzootic fungal disease, on a Louisiana snake community over a 3-year period...
Science
Responding to New World Screwworm in the U.S.
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is supporting the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) preparedness planning and response for New World screwworm (NWS), a foreign animal disease detected in the U.S. in June 2026 after its northward spread from Central America.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal)
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ( Bsal ) is an emerging pathogen capable of causing significant morbidity and mortality in salamanders.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) Surveillance
Scientists of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in collaboration with partners have developed risk assessments for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ( Bsal ) in the United States and are sampling high-risk locations for the fungus.