Volume 11, Number 11—November 2005
Dispatch
Assays to Detect West Nile Virus in Dead Birds
Ward B. Stone*
, Joseph E. Therrien*, Robert Benson*, Laura Kramer†, Elizabeth B. Kauffman†, Millicent Eidson†, and Scott Campbell‡
, Joseph E. Therrien*, Robert Benson*, Laura Kramer†, Elizabeth B. Kauffman†, Millicent Eidson†, and Scott Campbell‡Table 1
Oral swab RAMP and VecTest sensitivity for real-time RT-PCR–positive birds. New York, 2004–2005*
| Species (presented in taxonomic order) | N† | No. positive (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| RAMP | VecTest | ||
| Pelicaniformes | |||
| Double Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Falconiformes | |||
| Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Charadriiformes | |||
| Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Strigiformes | |||
| Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Passeriformes | |||
| Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) | 27 | 24 (88.9) | 19 (70.4) |
| American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) | 128 | 117 (91.4) | 108 (84.4) |
| Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| American Robin (Turdus migratorius) | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Total all species | 193 | 156 (80.8) | 137 (71.0) |
*RAMP, Rapid Analyte Measurement Platform; RT-PCR, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction.
†No. of birds real-time RT-PCR–positive.
