TY - JOUR
T1 - Experimental infection of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) with West Nile virus strains of lineages 1 and 2
AU - Del Amo, Javier
AU - Llorente, Francisco
AU - Pérez-Ramirez, Elisa
AU - Soriguer, Ramón C.
AU - Figuerola, Jordi
AU - Nowotny, Norbert
AU - Jiménez-Clavero, Miguel Angel
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank the personnel at the Doñana Biological Station and Cañada de los Pájaros, involved in the capture and acclimatization of the house sparrows used in the experiments, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, for permissions to capture the house sparrows, and staff at the CISA-INIA BSL-3 animal facilities, where the experiments were carried out. This study was funded by grants from INIA ( FAU2008-00002-00-00 ), European Commission ( HEALTH.2010.2.3-3-3 261391 EuroWestNile project) and Junta de Andalucia (Proyecto de Excelencia RNM-7038 ).
PY - 2014/8/27
Y1 - 2014/8/27
N2 - West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic pathogen which is maintained in an enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds; humans, equines, other mammals and some bird species are dead-end hosts. Lineage 1 WNV strains have predominated in Europe since the 1960s. However, in 2004 lineage 2 strains emerged in Hungary and Russia, respectively, spreading since then to a number of neighbouring countries (e.g., Austria, Greece, Italy, Serbia and Romania). Wild bird mortality is a hallmark of North American WNV outbreaks, a feature uncommon in Europe. This study aimed to compare the course of infection of lineage 1 (NY99) and lineage 2 (Austria/2008) WNV strains in the house sparrow, a bird species common in Europe and North America. House sparrows were inoculated with either NY99 or Austria/2008 WNV strains, or sham-inoculated, and clinical and analytic parameters (viraemia, viral load, antibodies) were examined until 14 days after inoculation. Although all inoculated sparrows became infected, no mortality or clinical signs were observed due to the infection. However, the magnitude and duration of viraemia were higher for NY99 - than for Austria/2008 - infected birds. The house sparrow proved to be a competent host for both strains, although the competence index calculated for NY99 was higher than for Austria/2008. Viral load in tissues and swabs was also higher in NY99-inoculated sparrows. In conclusion, the house sparrow is a convenient avian model for studying host competence of WNV strains. The observed differences between NY99 and Austria/2008 strains might have important epidemiological consequences for disease incidence and dispersal capacity.
AB - West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic pathogen which is maintained in an enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds; humans, equines, other mammals and some bird species are dead-end hosts. Lineage 1 WNV strains have predominated in Europe since the 1960s. However, in 2004 lineage 2 strains emerged in Hungary and Russia, respectively, spreading since then to a number of neighbouring countries (e.g., Austria, Greece, Italy, Serbia and Romania). Wild bird mortality is a hallmark of North American WNV outbreaks, a feature uncommon in Europe. This study aimed to compare the course of infection of lineage 1 (NY99) and lineage 2 (Austria/2008) WNV strains in the house sparrow, a bird species common in Europe and North America. House sparrows were inoculated with either NY99 or Austria/2008 WNV strains, or sham-inoculated, and clinical and analytic parameters (viraemia, viral load, antibodies) were examined until 14 days after inoculation. Although all inoculated sparrows became infected, no mortality or clinical signs were observed due to the infection. However, the magnitude and duration of viraemia were higher for NY99 - than for Austria/2008 - infected birds. The house sparrow proved to be a competent host for both strains, although the competence index calculated for NY99 was higher than for Austria/2008. Viral load in tissues and swabs was also higher in NY99-inoculated sparrows. In conclusion, the house sparrow is a convenient avian model for studying host competence of WNV strains. The observed differences between NY99 and Austria/2008 strains might have important epidemiological consequences for disease incidence and dispersal capacity.
KW - Experimental infection
KW - Host competence
KW - House sparrow
KW - WNV lineage 1 and 2
KW - West Nile virus
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U2 - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2014.06.005
DO - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2014.06.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 24984945
AN - SCOPUS:84904746738
SN - 0378-1135
VL - 172
SP - 542
EP - 547
JO - Veterinary Microbiology
JF - Veterinary Microbiology
IS - 3-4
ER -