Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep 22:2:136-138.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2016.09.003. eCollection 2016 Dec.

Wild snakes harbor West Nile virus

C R Dahlin  1 , D F Hughes  2 , W E Meshaka Jr  3 , C Coleman  1 , J D Henning  1
Affiliations

Wild snakes harbor West Nile virus

C R Dahlin et al. One Health. .

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) has a complex eco-epidemiology with birds acting as reservoirs and hosts for the virus. Less well understood is the role of reptiles, especially in wild populations. The goal of our study was to determine whether a wild population of snakes in Pennsylvania harbored WNV. Six species of snakes were orally sampled in the summer of 2013 and were tested for the presence of WNV viral RNA using RT-PCR. Two Eastern Garter Snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis tested positive for viral RNA (2/123, 1.62%). These results indicate a possible role for snakes in the complex transmission cycle of WNV.

Keywords: Flavirus; RNA; Reptile; Snake; Virus; West Nile virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. LaDeau S.L., Kilpatrick A.M., Marra P.P. West Nile virus emergence and large-scale declines of North American bird populations. Nature. 2007;447:710–713. - PubMed
    1. Hayes R.O., Daniels J.B., Maxfield H.K., Wheeler H.E. Field and laboratory studies on Eastern Encephalitis in warm and cold-blooded vertebrates. Am.J.Trop. Med. Hyg. 1964;13:595–606. - PubMed
    1. Whitney E., Jamnback H., Means R.G. Anthropod-borne-virus survey in St. Lawrence Country, New York. Am.J.Trop. Med. Hyg. 1968;17:645–650. - PubMed
    1. Shortridge K.F., Ng M.H., Oya A., Kobayashi M., Munro R., Wong F. Arbovirus infections in reptiles: immunological evidence for a high incidence of Japanese encephalitis virus in the cobra Naja naja. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 1974;68:454–460. - PubMed
    1. Bowen G.S. Prolonged western equine encephalitic viremia in the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandierri) Am.J.Trop. Med. Hyg. 1977;1977:171–175. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources