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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 80(5), 2009, pp. 864-869
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Humoral Immunity to West Nile Virus Is Long-Lasting and Protective in the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Nicole M. Nemeth*, Paul T. Oesterle, AND Richard A. Bowen
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado; National Wildlife Research Center, USDA/APHIS/WS, Fort Collins, Colorado

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a common and abundant amplifying host of West Nile virus (WNV) and many survive infection and develop humoral immunity. We experimentally inoculated house sparrows with WNV and monitored duration and protection of resulting antibodies. Neutralizing antibody titers remained relatively constant for ≥ 36 months (N = 42) and provided sterilizing immunity for up to 36 months post-inoculation in 98.6% of individuals (N = 72). These results imply that immune house sparrows are protected from WNV infection for multiple transmission seasons. Additionally, individuals experiencing WNV-associated mortality reached significantly higher peak viremia titers than survivors, and mortality during acute infection was significantly higher in caged versus free-flight sparrows. A better understanding of the long-term immunity and mortality rates in birds is valuable in interpreting serosurveillance and diagnostic data and modeling transmission and disease dynamics.

Received December 14, 2008. Accepted for publication February 12, 2009.

Acknowledgments: We thank Nathan Roberts, Nick Panella, Kate Huyvaert, and Nick Komar for providing sparrows. We are grateful to Paul Gordy, Louise Ansell, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Jenny Bervin, Christina Ndaluka, Kristin Jones, Ginger Young, and others for their assistance in catching and sampling sparrows. Paul Gordy provided logistical support and Robert McLean editorial comments.

Financial support: This research was funded by NIH contract N01–AI25489.

* Address correspondence to Nicole M. Nemeth, National Wildlife Research Center, USDA/APHIS/WS, Fort Collins, CO 80521. E-mail: nnemeth{at}colostate.edu

Authors’ addresses: Nicole M. Nemeth, National Wildlife Research Center, USDA/APHIS/WS, Fort Collins, CO 80521, Tel: 970-266-6069, Fax: 970-266-6138, E-mail: nnemeth{at}colostate.edu. Paul T. Oesterle, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521 and National Wildlife Research Center, USDA/APHIS/WS, Fort Collins, CO 80521, Tel: 970-266-6149, Fax: 970-266-6138, E-mail: Paul.T.Oesterle{at}aphis.usda.gov. Richard A. Bowen, Department of Biomedical Sciences, 3801 West Rampart Road, Foothills Campus, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1683, Tel: 970-491-5768, Fax: 970-491-3557, E-mail: rbowen{at}colostate.edu.






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Copyright © 2009 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.