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Volume 7, Number 7—June 2001
THEME ISSUE
International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases 2000
Conference Panel Summary

Intercontinental Transmission of West Nile Virus by Migrating White Storks

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Author affiliations: *Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan, Israel; †Israeli Veterinary Services, Beit Dagan, Israel; ‡Nature Reserves Authority, Israel; §Pasteur Institute, Paris, France

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In September and October 1998, West Nile (WN) virus was isolated from a flock of 1,200 migrating white storks (Ciconia ciconia) that had landed in Eilat, a town in southern Israel. Inclement weather conditions of strong, hot westerly winds had forced them to fly under considerable physical stress to reach Eilat. The storks were fledgelings, less than 1 year old, that had hatched in Europe. Analysis of blood samples taken from several birds within days of their arrival showed the presence of WN virus-neutralizing antibodies. Sequence analysis of the envelope glycoprotein gene of the stork isolate showed almost complete identity with a sample isolated from a dead goose in Israel in 1998.

Because this Eilat flock was migrating southward for the first time and had not previously flown over Israel, we assume that it became infected with WN virus in Europe. The presence of virus-neutralizing antibodies in stork serum samples collected from German flocks provided additional evidence that the birds contracted WN virus in Europe. These findings indicate that the recent epizootic of WN virus in Israeli geese had its origin in Europe, where the virus had been circulating in epidemic proportions since 1996. Epidemiologic studies of eastern European epidemics indicate that WN virus may now be endemic in southern Europe.

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DOI: 10.3201/eid0707.017719

Table of Contents – Volume 7, Number 7—June 2001

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