We sampled 100 Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), just after arrival in Nebraska breeding areas, to ascertain if migrating birds re-introduce Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae) to north-temperate localities in spring. Most birds sampled were previously banded and were known to have used parasite-free nesting colonies in past summers and/or were seronegative to BCRV; thus, they were unlikely to have been previously exposed to the virus in their breeding areas. None of the birds had evidence of viral RNA in blood, as measured by RT-PCR. These results are consistent with other studies that have shown little evidence that migratory birds re-introduce arboviruses to temperate localities between years.
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1 December 2008
No Evidence for Spring Re-introduction of an Arbovirus by Cliff Swallows
Valerie A. O'Brien,
Amy T. Moore,
Kathryn P. Huyvaert,
Charles R. Brown
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 120 • No. 4
December 2008
Vol. 120 • No. 4
December 2008