Fatal encephalitis and myocarditis in young domestic geese (Anser anser domesticus) caused by West Nile virus.
During 1999 and 2000, a disease outbreak of West Nile (WN) virus occurred in humans, horses, and wild and zoological birds in the northeastern USA. In our experiments, WN virus infection of young domestic geese (Anser anser domesticus) caused depression, weight loss, torticollis, opisthotonus, and death with accompanying encephalitis and myocarditis. Based on this experimental study and a field outbreak in Israel, WN virus is a disease threat to young goslings and viremia levels are potentially sufficient to infect mosquitoes and transmit WN virus to other animal species.
Swayne
D E
DE
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, 934 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30605, USA. dswayne@seprl.usda.gov
Beck
J R
JR
Smith
C S
CS
Shieh
W J
WJ
Zaki
S R
SR
D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003643:Death; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005777:Geese / Q000821:virology; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D020308:Songbirds; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral