West Nile Virus Viremia in Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) Sufficient for Infecting Different Mosquitoes
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The Department of Entomology seeks to teach the study of insects, their life-cycles, and the practicalities in dealing with them, for use in the fields of business, industry, education, and public health. The study of entomology can be applied towards evolution and ecological sciences, and insects’ relationships with other organisms & humans, or towards an agricultural or horticultural focus, focusing more on pest-control and management.
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The Department of Entomology was founded in 1975 as a result of the division of the Department of Zoology and Entomology.
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- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (parent college)
- Department of Zoology and Entomology (predecessor, 1975)
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Abstract
In eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) inoculated intramuscularly with 101.5 to 105.7 PFU of West Nile virus (WNV), serum titers developed sufficient to infect Aedes triseriatus (Say), Ae. vexans (Meigen), andCulex pipiens (L.). Mean titers (95% confidence interval) of 8 chipmunks were 103.9(3.3–4.5), 106.7(6.4–7.0), and 105.8(4.1–7.5) PFU/mL on days 1–3 postinoculation (p.i.) and 105.8 PFU/mL in 1 chipmunk on day 4 p.i. Mean estimated days that WNV titers were >104.8 and >105.6 were 1.7 (1.1–2.3) and 1.4 (1.0–1.6). The longest period of viremia >104.8 PFU/mL was 3–4 days. WNV antigen was detected in the small intestine of 2 chipmunks and the kidneys of 4 chipmunks by immunohistochemistry. WNV also was detected in urine, saliva, and feces of some chipmunks. These data suggest chipmunks might play a role in enzootic WNV cycles and be an amplifying host for mosquitoes that could infect humans.
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This article is from Emerging Infectious Diseases 13 (2007): 831, doi:10.3201/eid1306.061008