Surveillance potential of non-native Hawaiian birds for detection of West Nile Virus

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
By: , and 

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Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in North America in 1999. Alaska and Hawaii (HI) remain the only U.S. states in which transmission of WNV has not been detected. Dead bird surveillance has played an important role in the detection of the virus geographically, as well as temporally. In North America, corvids have played a major role in WNV surveillance; however, the only corvid in HI is the endangered Hawaiian crow that exists only in captivity, thus precluding the use of this species for WNV surveillance in HI. To evaluate the suitability of alternate avian species for WNV surveillance, we experimentally challenged seven abundant non-native bird species present in HI with WNV and compared mortality, viremia, oral shedding of virus, and seroconversion. For detection of WNV in oral swabs, we compared viral culture, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and the RAMP® test. For detection of antibodies to WNV, we compared an indirect and a competitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. We found four species (house sparrow, house finch, Japanese white-eye, and Java sparrow) that may be useful in dead bird surveillance for WNV; while common myna, zebra dove, and spotted dove survived infection and may be useful in serosurveillance.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Surveillance potential of non-native Hawaiian birds for detection of West Nile Virus
Series title American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
DOI 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0590
Volume 93
Issue 4
Year Published 2015
Language English
Contributing office(s) National Wildlife Health Center
Description 8 p.
First page 701
Last page 708
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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