United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

September 2012

The National Wildlife Disease Program 

(NWDP) was established in 2003 as part of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS). The program is a component of 

APHIS Wildlife Services’ National Wildlife 

Research Center, headquartered in Fort 

Collins, CO.

The mission of the program is to provide a 

nationally coordinated system of surveillance 

and emergency response for diseases of 

concern in wildlife. To support this mission, 

the NWDP established the Wildlife Tissue 

Archives in 2005. The archives’ diverse 

contents are derived from the Interagency 

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Early 

Detection System for Wild Birds, routine 

surveillance for diseases carried by feral 

swine, and monitoring for plague and 

tularemia in wildlife. The collection is 

unique in its quantity of samples, diversity 

of species, broad geographic range, and 

consistent sampling effort over extended 

periods of time. The NWDP welcomes 

inquiries about using archive tissues. 

Wildlife Tissue 

Archives

Available Archives

The NWDP Wildlife Tissue Archives 

consist of three collections. 

The Avian Tissue Archive is 

cooperatively administered with 

Colorado State University’s 

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, 

which also houses the collection on 

its campus in Fort Collins, CO. 

The archive includes nearly 

300,000 wild bird swab samples 

collected for highly pathogenic 

avian influenza surveillance in the 

United States from 2006 to 2011. 

Samples from 260 wild bird species 

in all 50 States and several U.S. 

Territories are represented. The 

samples are maintained at –80° C. 

The Feral Swine Serum Archive

is maintained at the NWDP 

headquarters and consists of serum 

samples collected from feral swine 

in 36 States. Two to three 

thousand samples are added to the 

archive each year. The NWDP and 

various cooperators currently use 

the samples to monitor for nearly a 

dozen diseases of feral swine. Serum 

samples are maintained at –80° C. 

The Plague and Tularemia Archive

consists of nobuto strips (whole blood 

on immunochromatographic paper) 

from 92 species of carnivores, rodents, 

and other mammals, as well as several 

bird species. The most frequently 

sampled species are coyotes, beaver, 

raccoons, skunks, and feral swine. 

Samples are stored at –20° C. About 

5,000 samples are added to the 

archive each year.

Supported Project Examples 

The Wildlife Tissue Archives support 

numerous types of studies, including 

emerging disease diagnosis, wildlife 

health studies, assay method 

validation, and a variety of retrospective 

Nearly 300,000 wild bird swab samples are 

available for research purposes.

The feral swine serum archive includes 

approximately 16,000 samples, with several 

thousand added each year.
studies. Some recent examples 

include: 

•	 Texas A&M University—

Studying the distribution of 

avian bornavirus in wild birds

•	 U.S. Department of Defense—

Validated portable field PCR 

(polymerase chain reaction) 

system for avian influenza 

detection

•	 USDA Agricultural Research 

Service—Studying the 

transfer of parasites between 

pasture-raised domestic pigs 

and feral swine

Additional Information

For more information, please contact:

John Baroch 

National Wildlife Disease Program 

4101 LaPorte Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80521 

Office: (970) 266-6308 

Email: john.a.baroch@aphis.usda.gov 

or 

Dr. Kristy Pabilonia 

Colorado State University 

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory 

300 West Drake Road 

Fort Collins, CO 80523 

Office: (970) 297-4109 

Email: kristy.pabilonia@colostate.edu

To learn more about the NWDP, please 

visit www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_

damage/nwdp.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on 

the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, 

age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, 

or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases 

apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, 

etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 

720-2600 (voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, 

Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, 

Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 

720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer. 

INQUIRE ABOUT SAMPLE AVAILABILITY AND APPLYING 

FOR A LOAN OF SAMPLE MATERIAL FROM THE WILDLIFE 

TISSUE ARCHIVES

The NWDP welcomes inquiries about using archive tissues for 

studies. Requests are evaluated and prioritized based on several 

factors, including overlap with other studies, alignment with 

the program mission (surveillance and early detection), and 

availability. There is no charge for sample loans. We cooperate 

with Federal, State, and Tribal government agencies, universities, 

and nongovernmental organizations. See contact information at 

right.

The NWDP Wildlife Tissue Archives 

include samples from a variety of 

mammals, including coyotes.

•	 Arizona State University—

Studying the phylogeography of 

influenza A viruses in animals 

and humans