INVESTIGADORES
GRANDE Juan manuel
artículos
Título:
Prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to West Nile Virus in Eleonora’s falcons in the Canary Islands
Autor/es:
GANGOSO, L.; GRANDE, J.M.; LLORENTE, F.; JIMÉNEZ-CLAVERO, M. A.; PÉREZ, J. M. ; FIGUEROLA, J.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE DISEASES
Editorial:
WILDLIFE DISEASE ASSOC, INC
Referencias:
Año: 2010 vol. 46 p. 1321 - 1324
ISSN:
0090-3558
Resumen:
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.