Volume 10, Number 12—December 2004
Research
VecTest as Diagnostic and Surveillance Tool for West Nile Virus in Dead Birds
Table 1
Comparison of oral VecTest and RT-PCR resultsa,b for West Nile virus in dead birds, New York State, April 2003– July 2004
No. of birds |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
VecTest resultsc |
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Species (listed by order) | No. birds tested | RT-PCR–positive | True positive (%)d | False-positive (%)e |
Ciconiiformes | ||||
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Anseriformes | ||||
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Falconiformes | ||||
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) | 1 | 1 | 1 | NA |
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) | 36 | 11 | 0 (0) | 0 |
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
Merlin (Falco columbarius) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Galliformes | ||||
Impeyan Pheasant (Lophophorus impeyanus) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Charadriiformes | ||||
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Columbiformes | ||||
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) | 75 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Strigiformes | ||||
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) | 25 | 12 | 0 (0) | 1 |
Passeriformes | ||||
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) | 339 | 166 | 133 (80) | 1 (1) |
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) | 1,076 | 702 | 608 (87) | 7 (2) |
Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) | 22 | 10 | 2 (20) | 0 |
Common Raven (Corvus corax) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) | 233 | 16 | 3 (19) | 1 (1) |
Gray Catbird (Dumatella carolinensis) | 113 | 2 | 0 | 13 (12) |
Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) | 85 | 1 | 1 | 1 (1) |
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) | 21 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) | 189 | 6 | 3 | 1 (1) |
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) | 17 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) | 222 | 41 | 31 (76) | 1 (1) |
Gouldian Finch (Chloebia gouldiae) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Society Finch (Lonchura domestica) | 1 | 1 | 1 | NA |
Other speciesf | 339 | 0 | NA | 8g (2) |
Total all species | 2,913 | 1,013 | 799 (79) | 36 (2) |
aRT-PCR, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction; NA, not available.
bPrincipally tests of kidney (brain or heart alternate when kidney missing).
cPercentages are provided for species where n > 10.
dNo. and percentage of RT-PCR–positive birds that were VecTest-positive.
eNo. and percentage of RT-PCR–negative birds that were VecTest-positive.
f84 species representing 16 orders.
gMute Swan (Cygnus olor) (1), Green Heron (Butorides virescens) (6), Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) (1).