Serologic survey of potential vertebrate hosts for West Nile virus in Poland.
A survey for antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV; genus ,Flavivirus) was carried out by plaque-re-duction neutralization microtesting in 78 horses, 20 domestic chickens, and 97 wild birds belonging to 10 species from different areas in Poland. Specific antibodies were detected in five juvenile (hatching-year) birds collected in 2006: three white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a wildlife rehabilitation center (5.4% of all examined storks; the antibody titers in each bird were 1:320, 1:160, and 1:20), one free-living mute swan (Cygnus olor; the titer was 1:20), and one hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix; the titer 1:20) in a wildlife rehabilitation center; thus the overall seropositivity to WNV was 5.2% among all the birds sampled. These data do not rule out the presence of WNV activity in Poland with 100% certainty, but they indicate a significant trace that demands verification. In addition, one black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) had neutralizing antibodies for the Usutu Flavivirus, the first case recorded in Poland.
Hubálek
Zdenek
Z
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic. zhubalek@ivb.cz
Wegner
Elzbieta
E
Halouzka
Jirí
J
Tryjanowski
Piotr
P
Jerzak
Leszek
L
Sikutová
Silvie
S
Rudolf
Ivo
I
Kruszewicz
Andrzej G
AG
Jaworski
Zbigniew
Z
Wlodarczyk
Radoslaw
R
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001717:Birds; D002645:Chickens; D006736:Horses; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral