Prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to West Nile virus in Eleonora's Falcons in the Canary Islands.
Birds are the major amplifying host for West Nile virus (WNV), a flavivirus that may affect humans and transmitted by bloodsucking vectors. Eleonora's Falcons (Falco eleonorae) migrate to the Canary Islands annually from WNV-endemic regions. To investigate the possible role of Eleonora's Falcons in the circulation of WNV, we measured WNV-specific antibodies in 81 falcons captured in 2006. None of the nestlings but 14.8% of the adults had WNV-neutralizing antibodies. RT-PCR did not detect flaviviruses in nonculicine ectoparasites (n=231) of the falcons. These findings suggest that WNV infection did not occur locally, but rather on the wintering grounds or during migration.
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. laura.gangoso@unil.ch
Laura
L
Gangoso
Juan Manuel
JM
Grande
Francisco
F
Llorente
Miguel Ángel
MÁ
Jiménez-Clavero
Jesús M
JM
Pérez
Jordi
J
Figuerola
D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D046093:Falconiformes / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral