Shirafuji Hiroaki, Kanehira Katsushi, Kubo Masanori, Shibahara Tomoyuki, Kamio Tsugihiko
Research Team for Zoonotic Diseases, National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Japan.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2008 May;78(5):838-42.
We experimentally infected jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos), which are representative corvids in East Asia, with West Nile virus (WNV) to study their susceptibility toward WNV infection. Six jungle crows were subcutaneously inoculated with 1,000 plaque-forming units (PFU) of the WNV NY99 strain. Within 7 days after inoculation, five of the six infected crows died, and peak viremias ranged from 10(6.5) to 10(10.9) PFU/mL serum. In addition, infected crows shed WNV in the oral cavity and cloaca, and the virus was widely disseminated in the organs of the crows. Based on these findings, we conclude that jungle crows are highly susceptible to WNV infection, and they could serve as amplifying hosts in the transmission of WNV. Although WNV has not been detected in East Asia, the virus could spread rapidly on introduction into this region because of the large number of potential amplifying hosts and vector mosquitoes that inhabit this region.
我们用西尼罗河病毒（WNV）对东亚具有代表性的鸦科动物丛林鸦（大嘴乌鸦）进行了实验性感染，以研究它们对WNV感染的易感性。六只丛林鸦皮下接种了1000个西尼罗河病毒纽约99株的空斑形成单位（PFU）。接种后7天内，六只受感染的乌鸦中有五只死亡，病毒血症峰值范围为10(6.5)至10(10.9) PFU/毫升血清。此外，受感染的乌鸦在口腔和泄殖腔排出WNV，并且病毒在乌鸦的器官中广泛传播。基于这些发现，我们得出结论，丛林鸦对WNV感染高度易感，并且它们可能在WNV传播中充当扩增宿主。尽管在东亚尚未检测到WNV，但由于该地区存在大量潜在的扩增宿主和媒介蚊子，该病毒一旦引入该地区可能会迅速传播。
