Ecology of Potential West Nile Virus Vectors in Southeastern Louisiana: Enzootic Transmission in the Relative Absence of Culex quinquefasciatus

Godsey, Marvin S.; King, R.P.; Burkhalter, Kristen L.; Delorey, Mark J.; Colton, Leah; Charnetzky, Dawn; Sutherland, Genevieve; Ezenwa, Vanessa O.; Wilson, Lawrence A.; Coffey, Michelle; Milheim, Lesley E.; Taylor, Viki; Palmisano, Charles T.; Wesson, Dawn M.; Guptill, Stephen C.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.12-0109

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…These LULC habitats provide both sugar and blood meals, and are favorable to WNV maintenance by enhancing maintenance and amplification phases between mosquito vector and their nesting/roosting reservoir bird hosts, especially the passerines [ 17 ]. This finding was confirmed by the selective feeding preference of this mosquito vector in NOLA, their contribution in both enzootic and epidemic transmission cycle of WNV [ 5 , 17 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], and the extended transmission season due to the milder climatic conditions of the Gulf Coast as manifested in mosquito WNV infection rates ( Figure 3 ). Similar reports of increases in mosquito WNV infection rates have been made in 2005 and 2006 in Chicago [ 58 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Vector-Host Contact (VHC) Ratios and Ecological Niche Modeling of the West Nile Virus Mosquito Vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, in the City of New Orleans, LA, USA

Sallam

Michaels²,

Riegel³

et al. 2017

IJERPH

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The consistent sporadic transmission of West Nile Virus (WNV) in the city of New Orleans justifies the need for distribution risk maps highlighting human risk of mosquito bites. We modeled the influence of biophysical and socioeconomic metrics on the spatio-temporal distributions of presence/vector-host contact (VHC) ratios of WNV vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, within their flight range. Biophysical and socioeconomic data were extracted within 5-km buffer radii around sampling localities of gravid female Culex quinquefasciatus. The spatio-temporal correlations between VHC data and 33 variables, including climate, land use-land cover (LULC), socioeconomic, and land surface terrain were analyzed using stepwise linear regression models (RM). Using MaxEnt, we developed a distribution model using the correlated predicting variables. Only 12 factors showed significant correlations with spatial distribution of VHC ratios (R2 = 81.62, p < 0.01). Non-forested wetland (NFWL), tree density (TD) and residential-urban (RU) settings demonstrated the strongest relationship. The VHC ratios showed monthly environmental resilience in terms of number and type of influential factors. The highest prediction power of RU and other urban and built up land (OUBL), was demonstrated during May–August. This association was positively correlated with the onset of the mosquito WNV infection rate during June. These findings were confirmed by the Jackknife analysis in MaxEnt and independently collected field validation points. The spatial and temporal correlations of VHC ratios and their response to the predicting variables are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Vector-Host Contact (VHC) Ratios and Ecological Niche Modeling of the West Nile Virus Mosquito Vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, in the City of New Orleans, LA, USA

Sallam

Michaels²,

Riegel³

et al. 2017

IJERPH

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“…Culex tarsalis drive epidemic transmission in the western United States while Culex pipiens is the main vector in the eastern United States. Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex nigripalpus are important vectors for WNV in the southeastern United States [33,34]. While many avian species have been infected with WNV, house sparrows and American robins have been identified as key to the virus' maintenance in nature [35][36][37].…”

Section: The Virus and Its Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Pathology of West Nile Virus in Humans and Non-Human Animals

Byas

Ebel

2020

Pathogens

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West Nile virus (WNV) continues to be a major cause of human arboviral neuroinvasive disease. Susceptible non-human vertebrates are particularly diverse, ranging from commonly affected birds and horses to less commonly affected species such as alligators. This review summarizes the pathology caused by West Nile virus during natural infections of humans and non-human animals. While the most well-known findings in human infection involve the central nervous system, WNV can also cause significant lesions in the heart, kidneys and eyes. Time has also revealed chronic neurologic sequelae related to prior human WNV infection. Similarly, neurologic disease is a prominent manifestation of WNV infection in most non-human non-host animals. However, in some avian species, which serve as the vertebrate host for WNV maintenance in nature, severe systemic disease can occur, with neurologic, cardiac, intestinal and renal injury leading to death. The pathology seen in experimental animal models of West Nile virus infection and knowledge gains on viral pathogenesis derived from these animal models are also briefly discussed. A gap in the current literature exists regarding the relationship between the neurotropic nature of WNV in vertebrates, virus propagation and transmission in nature. This and other knowledge gaps, and future directions for research into WNV pathology, are addressed.

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“…Located near the southern end of the Atlantic flyway in the continental United States, Atlanta provides stopover habitat for large numbers of migrating birds in both spring and fall and supports a substantial and diverse summer breeding bird population. 12 Because its climate and latitude differ from other major urban centers with the same vector species previously studied for WNV transmission such as Chicago, IL, 11 Washington, DC, 13 New Haven, CT, 14 and New Orleans, 15 our study objective was to test whether the unique extrinsic conditions in Atlanta translate into different WNV transmission dynamics among the vertebrate hosts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supersuppression: Reservoir Competency and Timing of Mosquito Host Shifts Combine to Reduce Spillover of West Nile Virus

Levine

Mead

Hamer

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. In the eastern United States, human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) result from spillover from urban epizootic transmission between passerine birds and Culex mosquitoes. In Atlanta, GA, substantial WNV presence in hosts and vectors has not resulted in the human disease burden observed in cities with similar infection pressure. Our study goal was to investigate extrinsic ecological conditions that potentially contribute to these reduced transmission rates. We conducted WNV surveillance among hosts and vectors in urban Atlanta and recorded an overall avian seroprevalence of nearly 30%, which was significantly higher among northern cardinals, blue jays, and members of the mimid family, and notably low among American robins. Examination of temporal Culex feeding patterns showed a marked feeding shift from American robins in the early season to northern cardinals in the late season. We therefore rule out American robins as superspreaders in the Atlanta area and suggest instead that northern cardinals and mimids act as WNV "supersuppressor" species, which slow WNV transmission by drawing many infectious bites during the critical virus amplification period, yet failing to amplify transmission due to low host competencies. Of particular interest, urban forest patches provide spillover protection by increasing the WNV amplification fraction on supersuppressor species.

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Ecology of Potential West Nile Virus Vectors in Southeastern Louisiana: Enzootic Transmission in the Relative Absence of Culex quinquefasciatus

Cited by 18 publications

References 59 publications

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Vector-Host Contact (VHC) Ratios and Ecological Niche Modeling of the West Nile Virus Mosquito Vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, in the City of New Orleans, LA, USA

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Vector-Host Contact (VHC) Ratios and Ecological Niche Modeling of the West Nile Virus Mosquito Vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, in the City of New Orleans, LA, USA

Comparative Pathology of West Nile Virus in Humans and Non-Human Animals

Supersuppression: Reservoir Competency and Timing of Mosquito Host Shifts Combine to Reduce Spillover of West Nile Virus

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