HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by GARVIN, M. C. Articles by GRIMES, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by GARVIN, M. C. Articles by GRIMES, S. Related Collections West Nile Flaviviruses

PATTERNS OF WEST NILE VIRUS INFECTION IN OHIO BLUE JAYS: IMPLICATIONS FOR INITIATION OF THE ANNUAL CYCLE

West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in North America in New York City in 1999 and rapidly moved westward. Understanding the mechanisms by which the amplification cycle is reinitiated each year increases our ability to predict epizootics and geographic expansion of the disease. Such understanding is enhanced by knowledge of the patterns of infection in the vertebrate reservoir hosts. Blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) may serve as reservoir hosts for WNV. We examined the influence of age and date on the prevalence of WNV in jay carcasses in Ohio during May–August 2002. Percent of carcasses that were infected increased significantly with time from 3% in May to more than 90% by August. We found no difference in prevalence between juvenile (nestlings and fledglings) and adult jays early in the season, which contradicts the expected pattern if the majority of the adults sampled in 2002 had been exposed to the virus in 2001. Therefore, jays infected in 2001 were unlikely to have been important in initiating the 2002 virus cycle in Ohio.

Received August 28, 2003. Accepted for publication January 7, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We thank all local health departments in Ohio for collecting and submitting dead blue jays. We also thank the Ohio West Nile Virus Work Group and Dr. Richard Berry and Dr. Robert Restifo (Ohio Department of Health, Vector-Borne Disease Unit) for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript and providing various forms of support for this study.

Financial support: This research was funded by Ohio Department of Health, Oberlin College, and a grant from the Mellon Foundation to Oberlin College.

Authors’ addresses: Mary C. Garvin and Keith A. Tarvin, Department of Biology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, Telephone: 440-775-8315, Fax: 440-775-8960, E-mails: mary.garvin{at}oberlin.edu and keith.tarvin{at}oberlin.edu. Jennifer Smith, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University, 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210, E-mail: smith.2782{at}osu.edu. Ojimadu A. Ohajuruka, Vector-Borne Disease Program, Ohio Department of Health, 900 Freeway Drive, Columbus, OH 43229, Telephone: 614-752-1029, Fax: 614-752-1391, E-mail: OOHAJURU{at}gw.odh.state.oh.us. Sheila D. Grimes, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, 8995 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068, Telephone: 614-728-6220, Fax: 614-728-6310, E-mail: grimes{at}odant.agri.state.oh.us.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A Marm Kilpatrick, P. Daszak, M. J Jones, P. P Marra, and L. D Kramer Host heterogeneity dominates West Nile virus transmission Proc R Soc B, September 22, 2006; 273(1599): 2327 - 2333. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Z. MANS, S. E. YURGIONAS, M. C. GARVIN, R. E. GARY, J. D. BRESKY, A. C. GALAITSIS, and O. A. OHAJURUKA WEST NILE VIRUS IN MOSQUITOES OF NORTHERN OHIO, 2001-2002 Am J Trop Med Hyg, May 1, 2004; 70(5): 562 - 565. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]