In the late 1980’s, a veterinary intern at the Wildlife Center of Virginia noticed that several avian patients had a very similar and severe conjunctivitis (eye infection).  Upon a slightly closer look, it was discovered that the problem was restricted mainly to one species of bird, the house finch, even though the affected individuals had come from a broad geographic area.  Calls to other wildlife rehabilitation centers revealed that the problem was occurring in over a dozen states.  Samples collected from the Wildlife Center’s patients were sent to several diagnostic laboratories for analysis.  The Virginia Department of Agriculture laboratory was finally successful in identifying a form of mycoplasma, a bacteria that presents a serious threat to poultry flock.  In conjunction with the USDA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, an alert was sent to poultry producers and others to be on the lookout for signs of this disease in commercial flocks, and informing them how to prevent and respond to the disease.

This incident illustrated how wildlife undergoing care in wildlife rehabilitation centers could literally be used as “canaries in the coal mine”- sentinels of environmental health.  The advent of West Nile Virus, and the recent occurrence of highly-pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in North America have been other situations in which wildlife rehabilitation has proven to be one of the best ways to monitor the spread of diseases that can affect wildlife populations, humans health, and the environment.  The challenge has been to develop the tools needed to collect and compile wildlife health information in a standardized format that can be accessed quickly if necessary.  The Wildlife Center of Virginia began to devise and design a system to do just that.

Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a great deal of attention was paid to biosecurity and, indeed, to bioterrorism.  Of the six highest risk pathogens under scrutiny by the national security agencies, five are actually zoonotic diseases (botulism, anthrax, plague, tularemia, and Ebola).  These diseases are primarily found in animals, including wildlife, but all can be deadly to humans.  The concept of wide scale monitoring of wildlife health went from being an interesting exercise in field science to a potentially critical aspect of national security.  The efforts of the Wildlife Center of Virginia to establish an online wildlife health monitoring system suddenly drew a great deal of interest.

Originally called Project Tripwire, the database was intended to collect wildlife health data from wildlife rehabilitation centers, then alert public safety authorities if unusual or potentially dangerous wildlife health events took place.  Funding for the development and testing of the concept was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, through a technology development grant administered by the Virginia Institute of Defense and Homeland Security.

Growing out of the original Project Tripwire concept, WILD-ONe was eventually developed into a complete patient management system and deployed in 2011.  Today, over 80 centers across North America and around the world are using WILD-ONe to manage the day-to-day operation of their clinics and wildlife rehabilitation centers, while generating a large volume of data that is unprecedented in its potential value to science and research.