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      West Nile Virus Detection in American Crows

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          Abstract

          A dipstick immunochromatographic assay used for West Nile virus (WNV) detection in mosquitoes was investigated for application to testing of fecal, saliva, and tissue samples from dead American Crows ( Corvus brachyrhynchos). Results suggest that VecTest may be an efficient method for WNV detection in field-collected, dead American Crows, although confirmation of results and further investigation are warranted.

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          Rapid detection of west nile virus from human clinical specimens, field-collected mosquitoes, and avian samples by a TaqMan reverse transcriptase-PCR assay.

          The authors report on the development and application of a rapid TaqMan assay for the detection of West Nile (WN) virus in a variety of human clinical specimens and field-collected specimens. Oligonucleotide primers and FAM- and TAMRA-labeled WN virus-specific probes were designed by using the nucleotide sequence of the New York 1999 WN virus isolate. The TaqMan assay was compared to a traditional reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR assay and to virus isolation in Vero cells with a large number ( approximately 500) of specimens obtained from humans (serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain tissue), field-collected mosquitoes, and avian tissue samples. The TaqMan assay was specific for WN virus and demonstrated a greater sensitivity than the traditional RT-PCR method and correctly identified WN virus in 100% of the culture-positive mosquito pools and 98% of the culture-positive avian tissue samples. The assay should be of utility in the diagnostic laboratory to complement existing human diagnostic testing and as a tool to conduct WN virus surveillance in the United States.
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            Crow deaths as a sentinel surveillance system for West Nile virus in the northeastern United States, 1999.

            In addition to human encephalitis and meningitis cases, the West Nile (WN) virus outbreak in the summer and fall of 1999 in New York State resulted in bird deaths in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. From August to December 1999, 295 dead birds were laboratory-confirmed with WN virus infection; 262 (89%) were American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). The New York State Department of Health received reports of 17,339 dead birds, including 5,697 (33%) crows; in Connecticut 1,040 dead crows were reported. Bird deaths were critical in identifying WN virus as the cause of the human outbreak and defining its geographic and temporal limits. If established before a WN virus outbreak, a surveillance system based on bird deaths may provide a sensitive method of detecting WN virus.
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              West Nile virus transmission and ecology in birds.

              The ecology of the strain of West Nile virus (WNV) introduced into the United States in 1999 has similarities to the native flavivirus, St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus, but has unique features not observed with SLE virus or with WNV in the old world. The primary route of transmission for most of the arboviruses in North America is by mosquito, and infected native birds usually do not suffer morbidity or mortality. An exception to this pattern is eastern equine encephalitis virus, which has an alternate direct route of transmission among nonnative birds, and some mortality of native bird species occurs. The strain of WNV circulating in the northeastern United States is unique in that it causes significant mortality in exotic and native bird species, especially in the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Because of the lack of information on the susceptibility and pathogenesis of WNV for this species, experimental studies were conducted at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. In two separate studies, crows were inoculated with a 1999 New York strain of WNV, and all experimentally infected crows died. In one of the studies, control crows in regular contact with experimentally inoculated crows in the same room but not inoculated with WNV succumbed to infection. The direct transmission between crows was most likely by the oral route. Inoculated crows were viremic before death, and high titers of virus were isolated from a variety of tissues. The significance of the experimental direct transmission among captive crows is unknown.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Emerg Infect Dis
                EID
                Emerging Infectious Diseases
                Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
                1080-6040
                1080-6059
                October 2003
                : 9
                : 10
                : 1319-1321
                Affiliations
                [* ]University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA
                []Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA
                Author notes
                Address for correspondence: Sarah A. Yaremych, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 13 Natural Resources Bldg., East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; fax: 517-432-1699; email: yaremych@ 123456msu.edu
                Article
                03-0306
                10.3201/eid0910.030306
                3033093
                14609472
                2380b1c8-80bc-41bc-9730-7e04dcb023de
                History
                Categories
                Dispatch

                Infectious disease & Microbiology
                Infectious disease & Microbiology

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