|
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
DNA Vaccination of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) Against West Nile Virus
To cite this article:
A. Marm Kilpatrick, Alan P. Dupuis, Gwong-Jen J. Chang, Laura D. Kramer.
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.
-Not available-,
ahead of print.
doi:10.1089/vbz.2009.0029.
Online Ahead of Print: October 29, 2009
A. Marm Kilpatrick, 1,2,**These individuals are co-lead authors. Gwong-Jen J. Chang,4 and Laura D. Kramer3,5 1Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York, New York. 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California. 3New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, New York. 4Public Health Service, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado. 5Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York. Address correspondence to: A. Marm Kilpatrick Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, CA 95064 E-mail: Abstract West Nile virus (WNV) has caused at least 1150 cases of encephalitis, 100 deaths, and an estimated 30,000–80,000 illnesses in 6 of the last 7 years. Recent evidence from several regions has implicated American robins (Turdus migratorius) as an important host for feeding by Culex mosquitoes, and, when integrated with their host competence for WNV, demonstrates that they are a key WNV amplification host. We evaluated the efficacy of a DNA plasmid vaccine at reducing the viremia and infectiousness of hatch-year American robins. We found that a single dose of vaccine injected intramuscularly resulted in more than a 400-fold (102.6) decrease in average viremia. Although sample sizes were small, these results suggest that vaccinated robins exhibit viremias that are likely to be mostly noninfectious to biting Culex mosquitoes. More broadly, if an orally effective formulation of this vaccine could be developed, new control strategies based on wildlife vaccination may be possible.
|
|
TOC Alert
CiteULike
Delicious
Digg This
Facebook
Newsvine
Twitter