Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

David S Blehert

David Blehert is Chief of the National Wildlife Health Center's Laboratory Sciences Branch

David Blehert received a Ph.D. in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999, and he joined the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) as a Diagnostic and Research Microbiologist in 2003. His research focuses on investigation of the ecology and pathobiology of bat white-nose syndrome. Today, Dr. Blehert is Chief of the NWHC's Laboratory Sciences Branch, which specializes in the investigation of unusual mortality events impacting our nation's wildlife. His laboratories also conduct surveillance for animal diseases of high consequence, such as white-nose syndrome in bats and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in wild waterfowl.

Professional Experience

  • 2014 to present, Chief, Laboratory Sciences Branch, U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin

  • 2003-2014, Diagnostic and Research Microbiologist, U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin

  • 1999 to 2003, Intramural Research Training Associate Fellow, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1999

  • B.S. Biology, University of Minnesota-Minneapolis St. Paul, 1993

Affiliations and Memberships

  • 2003 to present, Honorary Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiological Sciences

Science and Products

link
Swabs for Extraction

Diagnostic Services

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) conducts laboratory investigations to determine the causes of wildlife mortality events, especially large-scale die-offs or those that are otherwise unusual.
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
link

Diagnostic Services

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) conducts laboratory investigations to determine the causes of wildlife mortality events, especially large-scale die-offs or those that are otherwise unusual.
Learn More
link
Image: Bat with White-nose Syndrome

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.
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
link

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.
Learn More
link
Image: Northern Pintail Ducks

Avian Influenza

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.
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
link

Avian Influenza

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.
Learn More
link
Testing for Avian Influenza

Avian Influenza Surveillance

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) serves on the U.S. Interagency Steering Committee for Surveillance for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Wild Birds to standardize surveillance for this disease and is a leading partner in conducting morbidity and mortality investigations in support of the Interagency Strategic Plan for Early Detection and Monitoring for Avian Influenzas of...
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
link

Avian Influenza Surveillance

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) serves on the U.S. Interagency Steering Committee for Surveillance for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Wild Birds to standardize surveillance for this disease and is a leading partner in conducting morbidity and mortality investigations in support of the Interagency Strategic Plan for Early Detection and Monitoring for Avian Influenzas of...
Learn More
link
Dr. Carol U. Meteyer examining a bat

USGS Scientists Receive Award for Pioneering Work on White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

Dr. Carol U. Meteyer and Dr. David S. Blehert received the Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Memorial Award from the Wildlife Disease Association and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians for their pioneering work on white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats.
By
Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
link

USGS Scientists Receive Award for Pioneering Work on White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

Dr. Carol U. Meteyer and Dr. David S. Blehert received the Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Memorial Award from the Wildlife Disease Association and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians for their pioneering work on white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats.
Learn More
link
USGS science for a changing world logo

Transforming Biosurveillance by Standardizing and Serving 40 Years of Wildlife Disease Data

Over the past 40 years the National Wildlife Health center has collected wildlife health information from around the U.S. and beyond, amassing the world’s largest repository of wildlife-disease surveillance data. This project identified, characterized, and documented NWHC’s locally stored wildlife health datasets, a critical first step to migrating them to new laboratory- and public-facing data s
By
Community for Data Integration (CDI)
link

Transforming Biosurveillance by Standardizing and Serving 40 Years of Wildlife Disease Data

Over the past 40 years the National Wildlife Health center has collected wildlife health information from around the U.S. and beyond, amassing the world’s largest repository of wildlife-disease surveillance data. This project identified, characterized, and documented NWHC’s locally stored wildlife health datasets, a critical first step to migrating them to new laboratory- and public-facing data s
Learn More
link
Digestive gland from a freshwater snail (Lymnaea stagnalis)

Pathology — Madison, Wisconsin

About the CapabilityThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with the pathology section of the Necropsy and Pathology Diagnostic Laboratory at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) to advance an understanding of the effects of contaminant and pathogen exposure on wildlife.
By
Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
link

Pathology — Madison, Wisconsin

About the CapabilityThe Environmental Health Program collaborates with the pathology section of the Necropsy and Pathology Diagnostic Laboratory at the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) to advance an understanding of the effects of contaminant and pathogen exposure on wildlife.
Learn More
link
Two mule deer in a field of yellow and green

Enhanced Capacity for Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Certified Diagnostics at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal disease that impacts populations of deer, elk, moose, and other cervid species caused by an infectious protein called a prion.
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
link

Enhanced Capacity for Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Certified Diagnostics at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal disease that impacts populations of deer, elk, moose, and other cervid species caused by an infectious protein called a prion.
Learn More

Pseudogymnoascus destructans survival at elevated temperatures - Artificial media count data

The survival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) was evaluated at temperatures outside of its thermal range of growth on three different artificial growth media; Sabouraud dextrose agar (SD), brain-heart infusion agar (BHI), and brain-heart infusion agar supplemented with 10% sheep red blood cells (BHI+B). Pd was harvested from starting cultures grown of MEA agar at 7?C for 60 days. Harvested con
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental infection of Tadarida brasiliensis with the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome: hibernation data

This dataset includes skin temperatures of twelve Tadarida brasiliensis held in environmental chambers maintained at 7.7 (SD 0.9) degrees C and 91.8 (SD 0.8) % relative humidity to induce and support hibernation for up to 3 months. Bats were randomly assigned to infected and control groups at the start of the experiment and infected with conidia of Pseudogymnoascus destructans or a sham treatment
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center

Determinants of Pseudogymnoascus destructans within bat hibernacula: data

This dataset includes data used to summarize trends and identify best-fit models to explain patterns in presence-absence and abundance of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) in environmental substrates and on bats within six bat hibernacula at different stages of white-nose syndrome (WNS). Data relating to environmental substrates include: dates and relative spatial locations of samples collected wi
By
Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, National Wildlife Health Center
Filter Total Items: 64

Phylogenetics of a fungal invasion: Origins and widespread dispersal of white-nose syndrome

Globalization has facilitated the worldwide movement and introduction of pathogens, but epizoological reconstructions of these invasions are often hindered by limited sampling and insufficient genetic resolution among isolates. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungal pathogen causing the epizootic of white-nose syndrome in North American bats, has exhibited few genetic polymorphisms in previous stu
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Dispersal hazards of Pseudogymnoascus destructans by bats and human activity at hibernacula in summer

Bats occupying hibernacula during summer are exposed to Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), and may contribute to its dispersal. Furthermore, equipment and clothing exposed to cave environments are a potential source for human-assisted spread of Pd. To explore dispersal hazards for Pd during the nonhibernal season, we tested samples that were collec
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Datasheet: Pseudogymnoascus destructans (white-nose syndrome fungus)

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is a psychrophilic (cold-loving) fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS), an emerging disease of North American bats that has caused unprecedented population declines. The fungus is believed to have been introduced to North America from Europe or Asia (where it is present but does not cause significant mortality), but the full extent of its native range is unknown
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Geomyces and Pseudogymnoascus: Emergence of a primary pathogen, the causative agent of bat white-nose syndrome

Geomyces and Pseudogymnoascus (Fungi, Ascomycota, Leotiomycetes, aff. Thelebolales) are closely related groups of globally occurring soil-associated fungi. Recently, these genera of fungi have received attention because a newly identified species, Pseudogymnoascus (initially classified as Geomyces) destructans, was discovered in association with significant and unusual mortality of hibernating bat
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Snake fungal disease: An emerging threat to wild snakes

Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused byOphidiomyces ophiodii
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Detection of spring viraemia of carp virus in imported amphibians reveals an unanticipated foreign animal disease threat

Global translocation of plants and animals is a well-recognized mechanism for introduction of pathogens into new regions. To mitigate this risk, various tools such as preshipment health certificates, quarantines, screening for specific disease agents and outright bans have been implemented. However, such measures only target known infectious agents and their hosts and may fail to prevent transloca
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

A pelagic outbreak of avian cholera in North American gulls: Scavenging as a primary mechanism for transmission?

Avian cholera, caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, is an endemic disease globally, often causing annual epizootics in North American wild bird populations with thousands of mortalities. From December 2006 to March 2007, an avian cholera outbreak caused mortality in marine birds off the coast of Atlantic Canada, largely centered 300–400 km off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Sca
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

First detection of bat white-nose syndrome in western North America

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease of bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since it was first detected near Albany, NY, in 2006, the fungus has spread across eastern North America, killing unprecedented numbers of hibernating bats. The devastating impacts of WNS on Nearctic bat species are attributed to the likely introduction of P. destructans from Eurasia to naive ho
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Use of multiple sequencing technologies to produce a high-quality genome of the fungus <i>Pseudogymnoascus destructans</i>, the causative agent of bat White-Nose syndrome

White-Nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improvised reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies.
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Optimized methods for total nucleic acid extraction and quantification of the bat white-nose syndrome fungus, <i>Pseudogymnoascus destructans</i>, from swab and environmental samples

The continued spread of white-nose syndrome and its impacts on hibernating bat populations across North America has prompted nationwide surveillance efforts and the need for high-throughput, noninvasive diagnostic tools. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis has been increasingly used for detection of the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, in both bat- and e
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of <i>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</i>, the fungus associated with snake fungal disease

Background Fungal skin infections associated with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, a member of the Chrysosporiumanamorph of Nannizziopsis vriesii (CANV) complex, have been linked to an increasing number of cases of snake fungal disease (SFD) in captive snakes around the world and in wild snake populations in eastern North America. The emergence of SFD in both captive and wild situations has led to an i
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Experimental infection of snakes with <i>Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola</i> causes pathological changes that typify snake fungal disease

Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging skin infection of wild snakes in eastern North America. The fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola is frequently associated with the skin lesions that are characteristic of SFD, but a causal relationship between the fungus and the disease has not been established. We experimentally infected captive-bred corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) in the laboratory with
By
Ecosystems, National Wildlife Health Center

Pre-USGS Publications

Rickard, A.H., R.J. Palmer, Jr., D.S. Blehert, S.R. Campagna, M.F. Semmelhack, P.G. Egland, B.L. Bassler, and P.E. Kolenbrander. 2006. Autoinducer 2: a concentration-dependent signal for mutualistic bacterial biofilm growth. Molecular Microbiology 60: 1446-1456.
Orville, A. M., L. Manning, D.S. Blehert, J.M. Studts, B.W. Matthews, B.G. Fox, and G.H. Chambliss. 2004. Crystallization and preliminary analysis of xenobiotic reductase A and ligand complexes from Pseudomonas putida II-B. Acta Crystallographica 60: 957-961.
Orville, A. M., L. Manning, D.S. Blehert, B.G. Fox, and G.H. Chambliss. 2004. Crystallization and preliminary analysis of xenobiotic reductase B from Pseudomonas fluorescens I-C. Acta Crystallographica 60: 1289-1291.
Blehert, D.S., R.J. Palmer, Jr., J.B. Xavier, J.S. Almeida, and P.E. Kolenbrander. 2003. Autoinducer-2 production by Streptococcus gordonii DL1 and the biofilm phenotype of a luxS mutant are influenced by nutritional conditions. Journal of Bacteriology 185: 4851-4860.
Kolenbrander, P.E., R.F. Lerud, D.S. Blehert, P.G. Egland, J.S. Foster, and R.J. Palmer, Jr. 2003. The role of coaggregation in oral biofilm formation. In V. O’Flaherty, A. Moran, P. Lens and P. Stoodley (eds.), Biofilms in Medicine, Industry and Environmental Biotechnology, IWA Publishing, London, UK. p. 32-46.
Kolenbrander, P.E., R.N. Andersen, D.S. Blehert, P.G. Egland, J.S. Foster, and R.J. Palmer, Jr. 2002. Communication among oral bacteria. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 66: 486-505.
Blehert, D.S., B.G. Fox, and G.H. Chambliss. 1999. Cloning and sequence analysis of two Pseudomonas flavoprotein xenobiotic reductases. Journal of Bacteriology 181: 6254-6263.
Blehert, D.S., K.L. Knoke, B.G. Fox, and G.H. Chambliss. 1997. Regioselectivity of nitroglycerin denitration by flavoprotein nitroester reductases purified from two Pseudomonas species. Journal of Bacteriology 179: 6912-6920.
link

Alabama Survey Finds First Southeastern Bat with White-Nose Syndrome

Biologists have confirmed white-nose syndrome in the southeastern bat, or Myotis austroriparius, for the first time. The species joins eight other...

Read Article
link

Bat with white-nose syndrome confirmed in Washington state

OLYMPIA, Wash. – White-nose syndrome (WNS) has been confirmed in a little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) found near North Bend – the first recorded...

Read Article
link

Newt News: Deadly Fish Disease Discovered in Salamanders

  

Read Article
link

Trick or Treat? The Frightening Threats to Bats

  

Read Article
link

Ultra-violet Light Works as Screening Tool for Bats with White-nose Syndrome.

Scientists working to understand the devastating bat disease known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) now have a new, non-lethal tool to identify bats with...

Read Article

Science and Products