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Wildlife disease surveillance

If you have found a mass mortality of wildlife (2 or more dead animals together), nervous disease in wildlife or unusual deaths in wildlife, please contact the WEG veterinary lead or your nearest APHA Veterinary Investigation Centre: VIC Bury St Edmunds, VIC Carmarthen, VIC Penrith, VIC Shrewsbury, VIC Starcross, VIC Thirsk.

Please note: if you suspect a notifiable disease you must contact APHA immediately.

APHA Diseases of Wildlife Scheme (APHA DoWS)

The APHA DoWS has delivered national surveillance for wildlife disease in England and Wales to government since 1998.

The Scheme examines vertebrate wild species for all disease and mortality investigations, including infectious and non-infectious disease. In 2009, surveillance for vertebrate (apart from cetaceans) wildlife disease in GB became the responsibility of the Great Britain Wildlife Disease Surveillance Partnership, under the Chair of the APHA DoWS.

The GB Wildlife Disease Surveillance Partnership involves:

Wildlife Expert Group (WEG) veterinary lead

WEG veterinary lead - Paul DuffThe WEG Veterinary Lead is Cat Man.

Cat has been the WEG Veterinary Lead since Feburary 2022. She leads the Defra-funded wildlife disease scanning surveillance project in APHA.

Cat also chairs the Great Britain Wildlife Disease Surveillance Partnership and is the APHA representative for wildlife disease related matters in both HAIRS (Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance) Group and the NNRAF (non-native species risk analysis forum).

 

APHA Animal Disease Surveillance Reports

Recent Interesting Cases

GB wildlife disease quarterly report: disease surveillance and emerging threats – October to December 2021

  • Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) continues for the fourth month (November to February) in wild birds (and poultry)
  • Reimerella anatipestifer polyserositis and hepatitis, with enteritis, diagnosed in a mute swan

Disease Information

Information notes and alerts on specific diseases or conditions: