USGS National Wildlife Health Center

National Wildlife Health Center

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The Wildlife Professional, Facing wildlife disease head on (PDF)	NWHC Strategic Science Plan 2012 2011 Q4 NWHC Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report Bulletin: Update on Ranavirus in Amphibians and Reptiles Bulletin: White-Nose Syndrome Updates North American bat death toll exceeds 5.5 million from white-nose syndrome Bulletin: Universal precautions for the management of bat white-nose syndrome Recovery of little brown bats from natural infection with Geomyces destructans (White-Nose Syndrome)

Spotlights
NWHC isolates influenza virus subtype that infected 5 dead seals A virus similar to one found in birds but never before in harbor seals was the cause of five of 162 recent deaths of the animals in New England, according to a group of federal agencies and private partners. This Influenza A virus subtype, H3N8, appears to have a low risk of transmission to humans. Q&A about the seal mortality.	NWHC Designated as a Collaborating Centre by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) The National Wildlife Health Center has been granted provisional approval as an OIE Collaborating Centre for Research and Diagnosis of Emerging and Existing Pathogens of Wildlife. The OIE is an intergovernmental organization responsible for improving animal health worldwide. A critical component of the scientific expertise is the network of Collaborating Centres. The designation as a Collaborating Centre recognizes that the NWHC has achieved the highest international standards in wildlife disease scientific investigation.
Animal-Related Diseases Concern Scientists VOA Television covered the USGS Congressional Briefing, Global Threats from Emerging Wildlife Diseases and Invasive Species, in November 2011 and interviewed NWHC Director Jonathan Sleeman among others.	USGS scientists have isolated ranaviruses associated with die-offs involving more than 20 species of amphibians and turtles. Massive die-offs of amphibians are often caused by ranaviruses. USGS scientists have isolated ranaviruses associated with die-offs in over 25 states involving more than 20 species of turtles and amphibians in mortality events ranging from one to thousands of individuals affected.
View Recent Mortality Events USGS and a network of partners across the country work on documenting wildlife mortality events, in order to provide timely and accurate information on locations, species and causes of death.	Read about WNS in Microbe Magazine: A Plain Language Review White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent fungal disease that is rapidly spreading and causing unprecedented population declines among several species of hibernating bats in eastern North America. USGS biologists, together with the American Society for Microbiology, have recently published a plain language review summarizing the current state of knowledge about WNS in Microbe Magazine.

NWHC in the News
Bat-tling back in Rockaway Township after fungus strike - 4/22/2012 Avian Cholera Plagues Waterfowl in Klamath Basin Refuge - 3/27/2012 Scientists Scramble to Understand A Mystery Virus - 3/9/2012 Flying Blind - 3/1/2012 Smuggled Wildlife Products Seized at US Airports Harbor Zoonotic Viruses - 2/21/2012 Help scientists track disease with Wildlife Health Event Reporter - 2/14/2012 More NWHC news...