Prevalence of West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in colonial aquatic birds in southern Spain

Jordi Figuerola (1) , Miguel Angel Jimenez-Clavero (2) , Gema Rojo (2) , Concha Gomez-Tejedor (2) , Ramon Soriguer (3)

1 Applied Biology
2 Laboratorio Central de Veterinaria
3 Applied Biology

The rapid expansion of West Nile virus (WNV) throughout the New World has raised interest in understanding of the population dynamics and patterns of dispersal of emerging infectious diseases by wildlife. WNV affects humans, although its main reservoirs are various species of birds. Here we analyze the prevalence of WNV-neutralizing antibodies in nearly full-grown chicks belonging to seven different species of colonial waterbirds at three localities in southern Spain. Chicks with neutralizing antibodies against WNV were detected in three species and at all three localities. However, the low antibody titres suggest the presence of antibodies is probably due to maternal transfer of antibody, presumably from exposure of the adult birds to WNV or a similar flavivirus at some stage of their lives. The analyses of movements of marked individuals confirmed that all species with antibody visit countries with reports of WNV during the last decade.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Jordi Figuerola, Miguel Angel Jimenez-Clavero, Gema Rojo, Concha Gomez-Tejedor, Ramon Soriguer. Prevalence of West Nile virus neutralizing antibodies in colonial aquatic birds in southern Spain. Avian Pathology, 2007, 36 (03), pp.209-212. ⟨10.1080/03079450701332329⟩. ⟨hal-00540075⟩