Passive West Nile virus antibody transfer from maternal Eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio) to progeny.
Transovarial antibody transfer in owls has not been demonstrated for West Nile virus (WNV). We sampled chicks from captive adult WNV-antibody-positive Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) to evaluate the prevalence of transovarial maternal antibody transfer, as well as titers and duration of maternal antibodies. Twenty-four owlets aged 1 to 27 days old circulated detectable antibodies with neutralizing antibody titers ranging from 20 to 1600 (median 1:40). Demonstrating that WNV antibodies are passively transferred transovarially is important for accurate interpretation of serologic data from young birds.
Hahn
D C
DC
U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.
Nemeth
Nicole M
NM
Edwards
Eric
E
Bright
Patricia R
PR
Komar
Nicholas
N
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D008297:Male; D020305:Strigiformes / Q000276:immunology*; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral