Volume 13, Number 2—February 2007
Dispatch
Surveillance for West Nile Virus in Clinic-admitted Raptors, Colorado
Nicole Nemeth*†
, Gail Kratz*‡, Eric Edwards†, Judy Scherpelz*‡, Richard A. Bowen*, and Nicholas Komar†
, Gail Kratz*‡, Eric Edwards†, Judy Scherpelz*‡, Richard A. Bowen*, and Nicholas Komar†Table
Results of West Nile virus testing in Colorado raptors admitted to a rehabilitation clinic, April 1–October 15, 2005
| Species | No. tested | No. positive (%) | No. seroconverted | No. swab positive | Earliest date of collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swainson hawk | 28 | 8 (28.6) | 5 | 3 | Jun 27 |
| Red-tailed hawk | 13 | 4 (30.8) | 2 | 3 | Jul 28 |
| Ferruginous hawk | 1 | 1 (100.0) | 0 | 1 | Jul 31 |
| American kestrel* | 32 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Peregrine falcon | 2 | 1 (50.0) | 1 | 1 | Aug 16 |
| Golden eagle | 3 | 1 (33.3) | 1 | 1 | Aug 18 |
| Great-horned owl | 23 | 4 (17.4) | 3 | 2 | Apr 8 |
| Common barn owl | 24 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Long-eared owl | 5 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Other species† | 10 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Total | 141 | 19 (13.5) | 12 | 11 | Apr 8 |
*The proportion of positives for kestrel was significantly less than for all other species combined (p = 0.0046, α = 0.0056; Fisher exact test with Bonferroni adjustment for 9 comparisons). No other statistically significant associations were observed for the species tested.
†Includes burrowing owl (n = 2), sharp-shinned hawk (n = 2), Cooper's hawk (n = 1), eastern screech owl (n = 1), merlin (n = 1), osprey (n = 1), prairie falcon (n = 1), and saw-whet owl (n = 1).
