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1 October 2013 ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE AND WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODY PREVALENCE IN IOWA BIRDS
Natalie J. Randall, Bradley J. Blitvich, Julie A. Blanchong
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Abstract

In the Plains states of the central United States, research suggests that the prevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) disease in humans is higher in agricultural areas than in nonagricultural areas. In contrast, there is limited information about WNV exposure in birds, the primary amplifying host of WNV, in agriculturally dominated landscapes. We evaluated whether exposure to WNV in peridomestic birds sampled in central Iowa varied with the proportion of land use devoted to agriculture. Over the summers of 2009 and 2010, we captured birds in sites comprising gradients of agricultural, urban, and natural land uses, and tested their sera for antibodies to WNV. Overall, WNV antibody prevalence was low (2.3%). Our results suggest that agricultural land use had minimal influence on WNV exposure in birds. We conclude that birds are not likely to be useful indicators of WNV activity in agricultural areas in the Plains states despite human risk being highest in those areas. Antibody prevalence for WNV, however, was higher in American Robins, Mourning Doves, and Northern Cardinals than in other species, making these species potentially useful for monitoring WNV activity in the US Plains states.

Wildlife Disease Association 2013
Natalie J. Randall, Bradley J. Blitvich, and Julie A. Blanchong "ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE AND WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODY PREVALENCE IN IOWA BIRDS," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 49(4), 869-878, (1 October 2013). https://doi.org/10.7589/2012-10-263
Received: 23 October 2012; Accepted: 1 April 2013; Published: 1 October 2013
KEYWORDS
flavivirus
land use
peridomestic birds
Plains states
serology
surveillance
West Nile virus
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