We conducted a serosurvey of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) for vector-borne pathogens in 2016-2017 that were captured in the Hiawatha National Forest in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. At capture, in addition to age, sex, body weight of the hare and a blood sample data was collected on the ecological land type (USDA Forest Service. 2006. Hiawatha National Forest 2006 Forest Plan. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/hiawatha/landmanagement/planning/?cid=STELPRDB5106336) at the point of capture. Serology was conducted for antibodies to Snowshoe hare virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, La Crosse virus, West Nile virus, tick-transmitted Powassan virus, Silverwater virus, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Francisella tularensis.

This dataset consists of one table with diagnostic screening results from a study of Francisella tularensis bacteria exposure in tundra-nesting geese and mammals and Brucella spp. exposure in mammals sampled from multiple locations on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska, 2014-2017. The table provides sample collection and location data of geese, arctic fox, red fox, caribou, small mammal, and polar bear samples.

This data set consists of two tables associated with a study of Haemosporidian parasite infection in Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus) sampled at six locations throughout southcentral and southeast Alaska in 2007-2008. The first table contains species, location, banding, and morphometric data for all samples. The second table contains results from heamosporidian parasite screening of crow blood samples using molecular techniques. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples and screened for the presence of Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and Leucocytozoon blood parasites using a nested-PCR method. Parasite genetic data is provided as GenBank accession numbers for any samples that tested positive for haemosporidian infection

These data (in two spreadsheets) are the results of screening for influenza A viruses (IAV) in blood from wild animals that utilize the Arctic region of Alaska. 758 blood samples from nine wildlife species (3 mammal, 6 waterbird) were collected in Arctic Alaska, 2011-2017. Two different tests were used and the results are presented in separate spreadsheets. All blood samples were screened for IAV antibodies using a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA). A subsample of 63 blood samples were screened by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays to identify hemagglutinin (HA) subtype-specific antibodies for comparison among taxa.

,Deer keds are blood-feeding flies from which several human and animal pathogens have been detected, including the causative agent of Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgdorferi). Cervids, which are the primary hosts of deer keds, are not natural reservoirs of B. burgdorferi, and it has been suggested that deer keds may acquire bacterial pathogens by co-feeding near ticks that are infected with the bacteria. We tested this hypothesis by using a molecular assay to screen for presence of Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Rickettsia spp. in specimens of European deer keds (n=306) and blacklegged ticks (n=315) collected from 38 individual white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. There was limited similarity in the bacterial DNA detected between these ectoparasites per host, suggesting that co-feeding may not be a mechanism by which deer keds acquire these bacteria. We discuss these results in relation to deer ked feeding biology, life history, and collection timepoints. In addition, we screened specimens of European deer keds (n=410), Neotropical deer keds (n=13), Western American deer keds (n=10), and Pacific deer keds (n=14) for these same bacterial pathogens.,,

Tabular data set summarizing detection and location of invasive mammals (primarily rodents, fox, rabbits, and ungulates), on islands in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge between July 14, 2024 and July 31, 2024.

This data set includes data from five waterfowl species (northern pintail, American wigeon, lesser scaup, green-winged teal and mallard) that were captured in Interior Alaska in 2010, then measured and sampled for blood parasites and avian influenza infections.

This data set includes data from five waterfowl species (northern pintail, American wigeon, lesser scaup, green-winged teal and mallard) that were captured in Interior Alaska in 2010, then measured and sampled for blood parasite and avian influenza infections.

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, a notifiable foreign animal disease in the USA, was reported for the first time in wild native North American rabbits and hares in April 2020 in the southwestern USA. Affected species included the Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), Mountain Cottontail (S. nutallii), Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), and Antelope Jackrabbit (L. alleni). Desert Cottontails (n=7) and Black-tailed Jackrabbits (n=7) collected in April and May 2020 were necropsied at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and tested positive for Lagovirus europaeus GI.2, also known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (GI.2/RHDV2/b), by real-time PCR at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Gross and microscopic lesions were similar to those reported in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and other hare (Lepus) species with GI.2/RHDV2/b infection and included epistaxis (12/13; 92%), massive hepatocellular dissociation (14/14; 100%) and necrosis/apoptosis (11/11; 100%), pulmonary congestion (12/12; 100%), edema (12/13; 92%), and hemorrhage (11/12; 92%), and acute renal tubular injury (3/8; 38%). As in previous reports and when compared to historical cases in the NWHC diagnostic database, massive hepatocellular dissociation and necrosis/apoptosis was the most diagnostically distinct finding in GI.2/RHDV2/b-positive rabbits and hares. Based on the apparent susceptibility of North American Sylvilagus and Lepus species to fatal GI.2/RHDV2/b infection, additional work is needed to understand the host range, pathogenicity, and potential population impacts of GI.2/RHDV2/b in North America.

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease, a notifiable foreign animal disease in the USA, was reported for the first time in wild native North American rabbits and hares in April 2020 in the southwestern USA. Affected species included the Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), Mountain Cottontail (S. nutallii), Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), and Antelope Jackrabbit (L. alleni). Desert Cottontails (n=7) and Black-tailed Jackrabbits (n=7) collected in April and May 2020 were necropsied at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and tested positive for Lagovirus europaeus GI.2, also known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (GI.2/RHDV2/b), by real-time PCR at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Gross and microscopic lesions were similar to those reported in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and other hare (Lepus) species with GI.2/RHDV2/b infection and included epistaxis (12/13; 92%), massive hepatocellular dissociation (14/14; 100%) and necrosis/apoptosis (11/11; 100%), pulmonary congestion (12/12; 100%), edema (12/13; 92%), and hemorrhage (11/12; 92%), and acute renal tubular injury (3/8; 38%). As in previous reports and when compared to historical cases in the NWHC diagnostic database, massive hepatocellular dissociation and necrosis/apoptosis was the most diagnostically distinct finding in GI.2/RHDV2/b-positive rabbits and hares. Based on the apparent susceptibility of North American Sylvilagus and Lepus species to fatal GI.2/RHDV2/b infection, additional work is needed to understand the host range, pathogenicity, and potential population impacts of GI.2/RHDV2/b in North America.