National Wildlife Health Center
Data and Tools
The integrated, interdisciplinary science branches of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) develop various data and tools to help understand the dynamics of diseases on wildlife populations. Below are scientific data, data portals, and tools available from the NWHC.
WHISPers: data on wildlife disease events
WHISPers is a partner-driven, web-based repository for sharing basic information about historic and ongoing wildlife mortality (death) and morbidity (illness) events in North America.
Go to WHISPersWildlife Disease Management Resources
Access NWHC tools, reports, and additional materials to inform wildlife disease management.
Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases
Weighted Surveillance for Detection of CWD App
Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Reports
Medical Wallet Card for Wildlife Professionals
Request NWHC DataData on blood cells of the collector urchin, Tripneustes gratilla
Echinoderms such as urchins are important in marine ecosystems, particularly as grazers, and unhealthy urchins can have important ecological implications. For instance, unexplained mortalities of Diadema sp. in the Caribbean were followed by algal overgrowth and subsequent collapse of coral reef ecosystems. Unfortunately few tools exist to evaluate echinoderm health making management of mo...
Skin mycobiomes of eastern North American bats
North American bats have experienced catastrophic population declines from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Although Pd can infect many hibernating bat species, population-level impacts of WNS vary by host species. Microbial skin assemblages, including the fungal component (mycobiome), can influence host resistance to inf
Immunological histopathology of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) exposed in ovo to two persistent organic pollutants -- SCCPs and TBBPA-BDBPE
This work is part of a study of the immunological effects of exposure to alternative flame retardants in avian species. For the pathology portion of the study, spleens and bursas from American kestrels (Falco sparverius) exposed by egg injection to varying doses of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and the flame retardant TBBPA-BDBPE were examined microscopically for architectur
Immunological histopathology of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) exposed to the flame retardant isopropyl triphenyl phosphate
This work is part of a study of the immunological effects of exposure to alternative flame retardants in avian species. For the pathology portion of the study, hatchling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were exposed to the flame retardant isopropyl triphenyl phosphate (ITP) and then challenged with a synthetic analogue of viral double-stranded RNA, polyinosinic:polycytidylic aci
Necropsy reference number and summary collection information for Washington state population of northern sea otters examined during 1989-2010
Morbillivirus epidemics in marine mammals first gained prominence in 1988 when an outbreak of phocine distemper virus (PDV) occurred in European harbor seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina). Prior to 2001, all serosurveys for morbilliviruses in sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in California, Washington and Alaska documented a 0% seroprevalence. The first published serodetections of morbi
Fleas collected from black-tailed prairie dog burrows in 2016 and 2017
The data are a list of the number and species of fleas that were collected from black-tailed prairie dog burrows in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. Fleas were collected by swabbing ~100 burrows at 3 sites at each of 6 sites. Burrows were sampled twice each summer during 2016 and 2017.
Histopathology of bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) exposed to Nannizziopsis guarroi
This work is part of a study demonstrating that the fungus Nannizziopsis guarroi is the cause of the disease known as yellow fungus disease in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) by fulfilling Koch’s postulates. In this study, bearded dragons were exposed to N. guarroi to assess gross and microscopic lesion development and the ability to re-culture the fungus from infected sites. At
Plague causes fragmentation of prairie dog colonies in Conata Basin, South Dakota from 1993 – 2015
This data was used to investigate the invasion of a non-native disease, plague, to a keystone species, prairie dogs, in Conata Basin, South Dakota, United States. We documented the resulting extent of fragmentation and habitat loss in western grasslands using colony boundaries mapped by the USFS every one to three years from 1993 - 2015. Specifically, we assessed how the arrival of
Non-listed disease report to OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) for the 1st semester of 2019
As a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the reporting authority for the United States, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) is responsible for reporting wildlife disease outbreaks that involve diseases which are not OIE-listed (https://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahidwild.php# ). These...
Boreal toad survival data in relation to Bd status and community composition
These data represent capture mark recapture data from toads, and results of testing for Bd (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) the pathogen that causes amphibian chytridiomycosis on individuals. The data span from 2004-2016 at three sites in Montana where boreal toads were declining. The data also include temperature measurements at the sites and information on the egg counts and Bd prevalen...
Diagnostic and field data from the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane Population
Detailed data collected from the field and generated during diagnostic evaluation of whooping crane carcasses from the Eastern Migratory Population.
Data on serology results for green turtles with and without fibropapillomatosis from Hawaii and Florida
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease associated with a herpesvirus (Chelonid herpesvirus 5-ChHV5) that affects mainly green turtles globally. Understanding the epidemiology of FP has been hampered by lack of robust serological assays to monitor exposure to ChHV5. This is due in part to inability to efficiently culture the virus in vitro for neutralization assays. Here, we expr