Phylogenetic Analysis of Buggy Creek Virus: Evidence for Multiple Clades in the Western Great Plains, United States of America

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ABSTRACT:We performed experimental inoculations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) with Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), a poorly known alphavirus (Togaviridae) vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) that is an ectoparasite of the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow. Viremias were detected by plaque assay in two of six birds on days 1-3 postinoculation; viremia was highest on day 2. Viral RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in blood of six of 12 birds ranging from day 1 to day 15 postinoculation. Infectious BCRV was detected in nasopharyngeal swab samples from two birds by plaque assay. Three control birds that were housed with viremic individuals showed evidence of BCRV RNA in blood (by RT-PCR), suggesting possible bird-to-bird transmission of this virus. Viral RNA also was detected by RT-PCR in brain and skin tissue of six birds on necropsy at the end of the 16-day experiment. Introduced house sparrows are apparently a competent amplifying host for BCRV, and their presence year-round at cliff swallow colonies may facilitate persistence of the virus locally, especially when cliff swallows abandon a site temporarily. The findings that BCRV can be shed orally, that it persists in bird skin, and that control birds could apparently be infected by conspecifics suggest that this virus may be transmitted from bird to bird in the crowded conditions of many cliff swallow colonies.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is a poorly known alphavirus found widely in the western Great Plains of North America (Pfeffer et al, 2006). It is a member of the western equine encephalomyelitis virus complex, a group that also includes Highlands J virus, WEEV, SINV, and Aura virus (Reisen and Monath, 1989;Strauss and Strauss, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Inoculation of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus) With Buggy Creek Virus

Huyvaert

Moore

Panella

et al. 2008

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“…Buggy Creek virus, also known as Fort Morgan virus (FMV;Calisher et al, 1988;Pfeffer et al, 2006;Padhi et al, 2008), is a unique alphavirus in the WEEV antigenic complex. Although BCRV shares structural similarities with other alphaviruses in the WEEV complex, it is primarily transmitted by the cimicid swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae, Oeciacus vicarius), rather than by mosquitoes, and is not considered a pathogen of humans or domesticated animals (Griffin, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathology and Virus Detection in Tissues of Nestling House Sparrows Naturally Infected With Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae)

O’Brien

Meteyer

et al. 2010

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ABSTRACT:Alphaviruses (Togaviridae) infect wild birds, but clinical illness and death attributable to virus in naturally infected birds is rarely reported, particularly for small passerine species or nestlings. Buggy Creek virus is a unique alphavirus in the Western equine encephalomyelitis virus (WEEV) complex that is vectored by the cimicid swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius), an ectoparasite of the colonially nesting Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and the introduced House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). While sampling birds for Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) during the summers of 2007 and 2008, we discovered large numbers of clinically ill or dead House Sparrow nestlings. Ill nestlings exhibited ataxia, torticollis, paresis, and lethargy. Histologic examination revealed that encephalitis was the most common finding, followed by myositis, myocarditis, and hepatic changes, but pathology was highly variable. We isolated BCRV from brain tissue in most of the ill or dead nestlings, and from blood, liver, kidney, spleen, lung, feather pulp, and skin in some birds. To our knowledge, this is the first report of clinical illness, gross pathology, and histopathology for a WEEV-complex alphavirus in a field-collected passerine species.

“…Fort Morgan virus (Calisher et al, 1980), also found in swallow bugs, is a strain of BCRV (Pfeffer et al, 2006;Padhi et al, 2008); thus, FMV and BCRV are synonymous. Stone Lakes virus, recently isolated from California, is probably also a strain of BCRV (Brault et al, 2009).…”

Section: Study Organismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variation and Age-Related Correlates of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae) Infection in Nestling House Sparrows

O’Brien

Brown

2012

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ABSTRACT:Wild birds are rarely found with active arbovirus infections, and relatively little is known about the patterns of viremia they exhibit under field conditions or how infection varies with date, bird age, or other factors that potentially affect transmission dynamics. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an arbovirus associated with colonially nesting Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and transmitted by its vector, the hematophagous swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius), an ectoparasite of the Cliff Swallow. Introduced House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) that have occupied swallow nests at colony sites in peridomestic settings are also exposed to BCRV when fed upon by swallow bugs. We used data from 882 nestling House Sparrows in western Nebraska from 2006 to 2008 to examine seasonal variation and age-related correlates of virus infection in the field. Over 17% of nestling House Sparrows had active infections. Prevalence was higher in 2007 than in 2008 when birds from all colony sites were analyzed, but there was no significant difference between years for sites sampled in both seasons. Buggy Creek virus prevalence was similar in early and late summer, with a peak in midsummer, coinciding with the greatest swallow bug abundance. Nestlings 10 days of age and younger were most commonly infected, and the likelihood of BCRV infection declined for older nestlings. Average viremia titers also declined with age (but did not vary with date) and were high enough at all nestling ages to likely infect blood-feeding arthropods (swallow bugs). Length of viremia for nestlings in the field was $4 days, in agreement with an earlier study of BCRV. Nestling birds offer many advantages for field studies of arbovirus amplification and transmission.