Alligators as West Nile virus amplifiers.
Recent evidence suggests that American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) may be capable of transmitting West Nile virus (WNV) to other alligators. We experimentally exposed 24 juvenile alligators to WNV parenterally or orally. All became infected, and all but three sustained viremia titers >5.0 log10 PFU/mL (a threshold considered infectious for Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes) for 1 to 8 days. Noninoculated tankmates also became infected. The viremia profiles and multiple routes of infection suggest alligators may play an important role in WNV transmission in areas with high population densities of juvenile alligators.
Klenk
Kaci
K
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. kaci.klenk@aphis.usda.gov
Snow
Jamie
J
Morgan
Katrina
K
Bowen
Richard
R
Stephens
Michael
M
Foster
Falicia
F
Gordy
Paul
P
Beckett
Susan
S
Komar
Nicholas
N
Gubler
Duane
D
Bunning
Michel
M
D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004777:Environment; D013696:Temperature; D019562:Viral Load / Q000662:veterinary; D014766:Viremia / Q000662:veterinary; D014779:Virus Replication; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral