USGS National Wildlife Health Center

National Wildlife Health Center

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Science Feature	Hot Topics
Culprit Identified: Fungus Causes Deadly Bat Disease	New Publication: Evaluation of Nobuto Filter Paper Strips for the Detection of AI Virus Antibody in Waterfowl 2011 Q2 NWHC Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report 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) For the Birds: AMBLE Along Lake Michigan Bulletin: White-nose syndrome discovered in Kentucky, new counties in Maryland and West Virginia, and Nova Scotia Bulletin: White-nose syndrome discovered in Ohio, new county in Maryland, and New Brunswick

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.	International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases The conference brings together public health professionals to encourage the exchange of scientific and public health information on global emerging infectious disease issues. The program will include plenary and panel sessions with invited speakers as well as oral and poster presentations on emerging infections. Major topics to be included are current work on surveillance, epidemiology, research, communication and training, bioterrorism, and preventions and control of emerging infectious diseases, both in the United States and abroad.
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
Animal-Related Diseases Concern Scientists - 1/4/2012 Some seal deaths linked to flu found in wild birds - 12/22/2011 Unusual Marine Mammal Deaths on 4 US Coasts - 12/22/2011 New virus caused seal deaths, say experts - 12/20/2011 Bird flu virus tied to New England seal deaths - 12/20/2011 Energy efficiency upgrades save wildlife health facility $84,000 annually - 12/13/2011 More NWHC news...