Fish and Wildlife Disease
Fish and Wildlife Disease
Chronic wasting disease and cervid health—2025 highlights
White-Nose Syndrome and Bat Health: 2025 Year in Review
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) Surveillance
Tackling avian influenza with automated detection for an early warning system
Distribution of CWD Expanding
Chronic Wasting Disease continues to spread across North America
Chronic Wasting Disease continues to spread across North America
What is Avian Influenza (AI)?
USGS is the lead Federal agency for free-ranging wildlife disease research and surveillance. Our capabilities enhance the understanding of wildlife disease ecology and epidemiology as well as inform the development of decision-support and control tools. USGS wildlife disease experts provide technical assistance as needed to manage wildlife disease and conduct cause-of-death investigations.
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White-Nose Syndrome Surveillance
The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) assists State, Federal, and Tribal wildlife agencies nationwide with early detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans ( Pd), and addresses specific research priorities identified by partners in conjunction with the White-Nose Syndrome National Plan.
Vector-borne Disease Research
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...
Assessing Amphibian Disease Risk in the Northeast
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.
Tracking Domestic Ducks through the Market Chain in China via Telemetry
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.
Marine Invertebrate Diseases
Coral reefs worldwide are under tremendous stress primarily due to human activities along the coasts. While climate change, over fishing, and coastal development have been implicated as a major cause of coral reef decline, diseases seem to play an increasing role.
Sea Turtle Diseases
Sea turtles are one of the oldest groups of reptiles and are found worldwide. There are seven species of sea turtles in the world, and Hawaii has two of them, the hawksbill and the far more numerous green turtle. Threats to turtles include by-catch from fisheries activity, over harvesting of eggs on nesting beaches, and disease. Of the latter, the most significant disease of sea turtles is called...
Snake Fungal Disease
Snake fungal disease is an infectious disease confirmed in numerous species of snakes caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola.
Sylvatic Plague
Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that afflicts many mammalian species, including humans.
Avian Ecology and Multi-Species Habitat Use in Pacific Coast Estuaries
Waterbirds such as shorebirds, waders, and ducks depend on healthy and productive estuaries to “fuel up” for long distance migrations along the Pacific Flyway. Estuarine ecosystems include a mosaic of managed, natural, and restoring wetlands, and provide critical stop-over and wintering areas for federally protected migratory bird species. USGS WERC’s Dr. Susan De La Cruz works with federal, state...
Avian Diseases
The Honolulu Field Station provides routine diagnostic support to state and federal agencies in order to determine cause of death in endangered and threatened native birds in Hawaii, US territories, and affiliated states in the Pacific. These activities have resulted in information that was important in the recovery of several species of endangered birds such as Laysan ducks, Nihoa millerbirds...
Fish Health
Fish are an important component of marine ecosystems, but relatively little is known of their health, in part because sick and dying fish are difficult to detect.
White-Nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern across United States at an alarming rate.