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. 2003 Mar;9(3):311-22.
doi: 10.3201/eid0903.020628.

Experimental infection of North American birds with the New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus

Nicholas Komar  1 , Stanley Langevin, Steven Hinten, Nicole Nemeth, Eric Edwards, Danielle Hettler, Brent Davis, Richard Bowen, Michel Bunning
Affiliations

Experimental infection of North American birds with the New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus

Nicholas Komar et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003 Mar.

Abstract

To evaluate transmission dynamics, we exposed 25 bird species to West Nile virus (WNV) by infectious mosquito bite. We monitored viremia titers, clinical outcome, WNV shedding (cloacal and oral), seroconversion, virus persistence in organs, and susceptibility to oral and contact transmission. Passeriform and charadriiform birds were more reservoir competent (a derivation of viremia data) than other species tested. The five most competent species were passerines: Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Death occurred in eight species. Cloacal shedding of WNV was observed in 17 of 24 species, and oral shedding in 12 of 14 species. We observed contact transmission among four species and oral in five species. Persistent WNV infections were found in tissues of 16 surviving birds. Our observations shed light on transmission ecology of WNV and will benefit surveillance and control programs.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparative West Nile virus viremia profiles for 10 orders of birds.
Figure 2
Figure 2
West Nile virus viremia profiles in American Crows that were mosquito-exposed (n=8), orally exposed by ingestion of sparrow carcasses (n=5), or contact-exposed (n=4). A fifth contact-exposed crow developed an ephemeral low-titered viremia (102.2/mL serum) and was treated as an outlier in this analysis. Error bars show standard deviation of log10-transformed viremia titers.
Figure 3
Figure 3
West Nile virus-neutralizing antibody response of six mosquito-exposed Rock Doves (pigeons). Rock Dove 175 reached a titer of 1:640 at 4 weeks postinoculation and then died of other causes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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