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ANTIBODIES TO WEST NILE VIRUS IN ASYMPTOMATIC MAMMALS, BIRDS, AND REPTILES IN THE YUCATAN PENINSULA OF MEXICO

Surveillance for evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in taxonomically diverse vertebrates was conducted in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 2003 and 2004. Sera from 144 horses on Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo State, 415 vertebrates (257 birds, 52 mammals, and 106 reptiles) belonging to 61 species from the Merida Zoo, Yucatan State, and 7 farmed crocodiles in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche State were assayed for antibodies to flaviviruses. Ninety (62%) horses on Cozumel Island had epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibodies to flaviviruses, of which 75 (52%) were seropositive for WNV by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Blocking ELISA antibodies to flaviviruses also were detected in 13 (3%) animals in the Merida Zoo, including 7 birds and 2 mammals (a jaguar and coyote) seropositive for WNV by PRNT. Six (86%) crocodiles in Campeche State had PRNT-confirmed WNV infections. All animals were healthy at the time of serum collections and none had a history of WNV-like illness.

Received April 17, 2005. Accepted for publication December 21, 2005.

Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Charles Calisher (Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO) for his thorough review of the manuscript, and Dr. Richard Bowen (Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO) for generously providing control serum for the blocking ELISA. We also thank Waldemar Santamaría, Luis Chulim-Perera, Mildred López-Uribe, and Genny López-Uribe (Universidad Autónoma de Yucatan, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico) for assisting in the collection of samples. We are greatly appreciative of all personnel from the El Centenario Zoo in Merida, the crocodile farm in Ciudad del Carmen, and the horse ranch on Cozumel Island for providing samples used in these studies.

Financial support: This study was supported by grant U50 CCU820510 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in part by grant AI45430 from the National Institutes of Health.

^* Address correspondence to Barry J. Beaty, Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. E-mail: bbeaty{at}colostate.edu

Authors’ addresses: José A. Farfán-Ale, Fernando Puerto-Manzano, Julián E. García-Rejón, Elsy P. Rosado-Paredes, Luis F. Flores-Flores, Andres Ortega-Salazar, and Jaidy Chávez-Medina, Laboratorio de Arbovirologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Av. Itzaes No. 490 x 59, Centro, Merida, Yucatan, México 97000, Telephone 52-999-924-6412, Fax: 52-999-923-1804. Bradley J. Blitvich, Nicole L. Marlenee, María A. Loroño-Pino, and Barry J. Beaty, Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, Telephone: 970-491-4383, Fax: 970-491-8323, E-mail: bbeaty{at}colostate.edu. Juan C. Cremieux-Grimaldi, Favián Correa-Morales, Gerson Hernández-Gaona, and Jorge F. Méndez-Galván, Centro Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica y Control de Enfermedades, Secretaría de Salud, Benjamín Franklin No. 132 Colonia Escandón Deleg. Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City DF 11800, Mexico, Telephone: 52-2614-6361 Fax: 52-2614-6362.

Reprint requests: Barry J. Beaty, Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523.