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This dataset consists of measurements of the digestive gland in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis orally exposed to uranium. The objective of the study was to assess the morphological effects of uranium on the snail digestive gland by light microscopy. Laboratory-cultured L stagnalis were exposed to either synthetic or natural solid phases of uranium and a subset (6 controls and 6 exposed) were euthanized and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for histopathological assessment. Slides were processed and stained with hematoxalin and eosin as per standard procedure (Luna 1968). The size of each sample, the length and width of digestive gland tubules (5 random glands per sample) and height of digestive cells...
This work is part of an experimental trial to develop and assess novel recombinant raccoonpox virus (RCN) rabies vaccines in the mouse model, for potential use in bats. Briefly, our research group previously developed a recombinant RCN vaccine candidate expressing a mosaic glycoprotein (MoG) gene that protected mice and big brown bats when challenged with rabies virus (RABV). We developed two new recombinant RCN candidates expressing MoG (RCN-tPA-MoG and RCN-SS-TD-MoG) with the aim of improving RCN-MoG. We assessed and compared in vitro expression, in vivo immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in vaccinated mice challenged intracerebrally with RABV. In this data set, we share results of immunofluorescence assay...
Snake fungal disease (SFD; ophidiomycosis), caused by the pathogen Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo), has been documented in wild snakes in North America and Eurasia, and is a potentially emerging disease in the eastern USA. However, a lack of historical disease data has made it challenging to determine whether Oo is a recent arrival to the USA or whether SFD emergence is due to other factors. Here, we examined the genomes of 82 Oo strains to determine the pathogen’s history in the eastern USA. This dataset contains metadata on the strains used in that study.
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Raw sequencing data as generated by the five different methods used are provided for each of the three samples used in the comparison. The files are in FASTQ format as exported from the Oxford Nanopore’s MK1C using MinION flowcells. Files are labeled according to the method (as described in the paper) and the Sample ID). The MK1C exports data in blocks of 6000 reads per FASTQ file and all the FASTQ files from each method and sample are grouped in a common folder.
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The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) measured environmental contaminants in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) to evaluate dietary exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides (AR), which was identified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a priority issue of concern for the Mountain Prairie Region 6. Carcasses of bald eagles (n = 172) and golden eagles (n = 142) collected from North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, and Kansas between 2014-2017 were assessed for cause of death and liver lead, mercury, and AR levels. Trauma, electrocution, and lead poisoning were the 3 leading causes of death,...
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 acid (poly I:C). Control birds were challenged with vehicle only or vehicle and poly I:C. At euthanasia, spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius were collected and fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for histopathological assessment. Slides were processed and stained with hematoxalin and eosin as per standard procedure (Luna 1968). Quantitative...
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 prevalence from Columbia spotted frogs that are co-occurring at one of the sites.
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The present study proposes a new methodology for the quantification of parasite eggs in animal tissue. Quantification of parasites are important to understand epidemiology of spirorchiid infections in sea turtles, however different methodologies for quantifying Spirorchiidae eggs in turtle tissues have been used. The most representative way to quantify Spirorchiidae burdens in tissues is counting eggs / g of tissue, however, this method is very laborious. As an alternative, we propose quantifying number of Spirorchiidae egg/ area of tissue on a microscope slide. We compared this method to number of eggs / slide, a common metric of egg burden in turtle tissues. Both methods correlated well with eggs / g with eggs/mm2...
Influenza A viruses are one of the most significant viral groups globally with substantial impacts on human, domestic animal and wildlife health. Wild birds are the natural reservoirs for these viruses, and active surveillance within wild bird populations provides critical information about viral evolution forming the basis of risk assessments and counter measure development. Unfortunately, active surveillance programs are often resource-intensive, and thus enhancing programs for increased efficiency is paramount. Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence applications, provides statistical learning procedures that can be used to gain novel insights into disease surveillance systems. We use a form of...
Results of a literature search performed December 1, 2020. The tables in this document summarize the publications fitting in this search criteria and are split into the publications that update the list of international species that could carry Bsal (Appendix 1 Table S1). Number of individual live amphibians imported in categories of urodelan (salamander, newt, and related taxa) species restricted under the interim regulations and not listed, species not listed on the regulations that have had Bsal detected, notably Bombina spp., anuran species in the genus Rana, and Xenopus (including African clawed frogs) as a comparison of species not thought to be susceptible to Bsal, but commonly imported (Appendix 3 Table...
This work is part of an experimental trial investigating the effects of microclimate conditions of temperature and humidity on a fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) disease in hibernating bats. As part of the trial, tri-colored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) were exposed to Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) and allowed to hibernate in chambers with a variety of temperature and humidity conditions. Bats were euthanized after 83 days. A portion of the wing was rolled around dental wax dowels, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed and stained with periodic acid-Schiff, and assessed by light microscopy for evidence of fungal infection. Three types of cutaneous...
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These data were collected as part of a voluntary initiative to create a White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network among laboratories participating in research and surveillance for Pseudogymonascus destructans (Pd) - the fungal pathogen causing White-Nose Syndrome in bats. Pd_qPCR_InterlaboratoryLODdata.xlsx is raw qPCR data from multiple laboratories running serial dilutions of Pd gBlock in known concentrations for the collectively used Muller (2013) Pd qPCR assay. Pd_qPCR_InterlaboratoryResults_LOD.xlsx contains the data output for each laboratory from running a generic LOD/LOQ calculator script. the generic LOD/LOQ calculator script is available at:https://github.com/cmerkes/qPCR_LOD_Calc. Pd_qPCR_InterlaboratoryPTResults_PanelData.xlsx...
These data represent characteristics of trees used by Northern long-eared bats as roosts at three sites in Wisconsin, as well as characteristics of surrounding trees to compare characteristics of used versus available trees.
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This data set provides biological information from of a captive colony of common vampire bats (wild-caught and born in captivity) that were part of an experimental study on vaccination. It includes results obtained from different assays: RT-PCR, serum neutralization, Rabies direct-fluorescent antibody test, performed periodically during the study (Sep 2018 – May 2020).
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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 mortalities or other health issues problematic. Hematology is often used to assess animal health in many animal groups including invertebrates but is seldom applied to echninoderms. We used a standard gravitometric technique to concentrate fixed ceolomocytes from the collector urchin Tripneustes gratilla onto microscope slides permitting...
These data represent capture mark recapture data along with associated disease status for boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas) from Wyoming and Montana from 2004-2016 and four frog species (Rana draytonii, R. muscosa, R. pretiosa, R. sierrae) from 2001-2016.
This dataset describes histopathological changes in liver, kidney, heart, skeletal muscle and intestine of captive American kestrels exposed to the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide brodifacoum (BROD). The goal of the study was to determine the toxic range of brodifacoum by feeding birds a diet containing 0.3, 1.0, or 3.0 ug BROD/g wet weight. Birds were necropsied and examined grossly for hemorrhages or anemia, and liver, kidney, heart, pectoral muscle, and intestine was collected for histopathological evaluation. Tissues were scanned at least 100x magnification and all lesions, including hemorrhage, inflammation, and degenerative changes, were described and assigned a morphologic diagnosis with severity,...
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This work is part of a study investigating the movement of microcystin from aquatic to terrestrial ecosystems via trophic transfer. Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), feeding opportunistically on aquatic insects including Hexagenia mayflies, were collected from a maternity roost near Little Traverse Lake (Leelanau County, Michigan, USA). Bats and fecal samples were collected for dietary analysis, quantification of microcystin in livers and feces, and histopathological evaluation of the liver. Liver was collected in RNAlater and stored frozen. Livers from three bats with the highest microcystin levels by ELISA were thawed, washed with PBS, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed routinely for histopathology,...
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This dataset includes epidemiology, clinical signs, gross and microscopic pathology, and virology data from two red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and one fisher (Pekania pennanti) submitted to the USGS-National Wildlife Health Center for cause-of-death determination and confirmed positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. The foxes were juveniles from North Dakota and the fisher was an adult from Wisconsin. Clinical signs included neurological deficits such as ataxia, lethargy, or paralysis. Gross and microscopic lesions included myocardial pallor, pulmonary and hepatic congestion, meningoencephalitis, interstitial pneumonia, myocardial necrosis, and hepatic...
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As grazers, sea urchins are keystone species in tropical marine ecosystems, and their loss can have important ecological ramifications. Die-offs of urchins are frequently described but their causesare often unclear, in part because systematic examinations of animal tissues at gross and microscopic level are not done. In some areas, urchins are being employed to control invasive marine algae. Here we describe the pathology of a mortality event in Tripneustes gratilla in Hawaii where urchins were being translocated to control invasive algae. Although we did not determine the cause of the mortality event, our investigation suggests that animals died from inflammation of the test and epidermal ulceration followed by...