IDEA   23902
INSTITUTO DE DIVERSIDAD Y ECOLOGIA ANIMAL
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
St. Louis encephalitis virus activity is not associated with abundance of its main urban avian host, Eared Doves (Zenaida auriculata)
Autor/es:
FARIAS ADRÍAN; BERANEK MAURICIO; DÍAZ ADRÍAN; PERALTA GIOVANA; PELUC SUSANA
Lugar:
Nueva Jersey
Reunión:
Congreso; 17th Annual Meeting on Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease; 2019
Resumen:
The St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), a flavivirus endemic in the Americas, is maintained among multiple avian hosts and mosquitoes vector species. Our aim was to associate viral activity in mosquitoes with the per species abundance of potential avian hosts in Córdoba City, Argentina. We collected mosquitoes with CDC dry ice supplemented light traps. We taxonomically determined mosquitoes and grouped them into pools regarding: capture site, collection date, species, sex and female physiological state. Within areas of 500m radius around the mosquito traps, we recorded species and abundance of all birds perched and heard. The most abundant mosquito collected was Culex quinquefasciatus (61.51%), the main urban vector of SLEV. In 24/100 pools we found at least one mosquito positive for SLEV. We examined the association between bird abundances and SLEV activity applying Generalized and Mixed Linear Models (GLMM). Independent variables were the abundances of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), Spotted-winged Pigeon (Patagioenas maculosa) and Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata), which correspond to 70% of overall the avifauna recorded at each site. We compared six models based on the Theory of Information with AICc metrics. The null model differed from the remaining models in approximately 5 AICc units. Hence, SLEV activity was not associated with bird abundances, not even with Eared Doves, the main urban amplifier for the virus. Predicting models of SLEV infection should include vectors abundances and their feeding patterns besides the abundance of potential hosts.