Volume 8, Number 7—July 2002
Dispatch
Detection of West Nile Virus in Oral and Cloacal Swabs Collected from Bird Carcasses
Nicholas Komar*
, Robert Lanciotti*, Richard Bowen†, Stanley Langevin*, and Michel Bunning*‡
, Robert Lanciotti*, Richard Bowen†, Stanley Langevin*, and Michel Bunning*‡
Table
Mean logarithmic titers of West Nile virus (WNV) infectious particles, determined by Vero plaque assay and TaqMan reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reactiona
| Specimen type
(Mean Vero log PFU [range]/Mean TaqMan log PFU equivalents [range]) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Brain | Oral swab | Cloacal swab |
| American Crow | 8.2 [5.9–8.8]/7.1 [5.3–7.7] | 7.3 [4.1–7.7]/6.6 [4.6–7.1] | 6.4 [3.8–7.4]/6.9 [6.1–7.3] |
| Fish Crow | 6.6 [4.1–6.9]/5.8 [4.8–6.2] | 7.0 [1.4–7.6]/6.1 [3.2–6.7] | 6.8 [<0.4–7.4]/6.0 [2.3–6.6] |
| Blue Jay | 8.0 [7.3–8.2]/6.3b [6.2–6.3] | 7.1b [5.3–7.4]/5.7b [4.4–6.0] | 5.8 [3.0–6.3]/6.7b [5.6–7.0] |
aIn postmortem samples of brain tissue (1 cm3), and oral and cloacal swabs for 12 American Crows, 4 Fish Crows, and 4 Blue Jays experimentally infected with the New York 1999 strain of WNV.
bThis value determined from only two birds.
1 Pertaining to the family Corvidae, including crows, jays and magpies.
2 These birds were infected either by mosquito bite or by direct contact with infected cagemates, both of which are potentially natural modes of infection.
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