Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013 Jan;88(1):116-26. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0276. Epub 2012 Nov 13.
West Nile virus ecology has yet to be rigorously investigated in the Caribbean Basin. We identified a transmission focus in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and established systematic monitoring of avian abundance and infection, seroconversions in domestic poultry, and viral infections in mosquitoes. West Nile virus transmission was detected annually between May and October from 2005 to 2008. High temperature and low rainfall enhanced the probability of chicken seroconversions, which occurred in both urban and rural sites. West Nile virus was isolated from Culex quinquefasciatus and to a lesser extent, from Culex mollis/Culex inflictus, but not from the most abundant Culex mosquito, Culex nigripalpus. A calculation that combined avian abundance, seroprevalence, and vertebrate reservoir competence suggested that great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is the major amplifying host in this ecosystem. West Nile virus transmission reached moderate levels in sentinel chickens during 2007, but less than that observed during outbreaks of human disease attributed to West Nile virus in the United States.
西尼罗河病毒的生态学在加勒比海盆地尚未得到严格的研究。我们在危地马拉的波多黎各港确定了一个传播焦点，并建立了系统的监测，包括鸟类丰度和感染情况、家禽血清转化、以及蚊子中的病毒感染。2005 年至 2008 年期间，每年 5 月至 10 月都检测到西尼罗河病毒的传播。高温和低降雨量增加了鸡血清转化的可能性，这种情况发生在城市和农村地区。西尼罗河病毒从库蚊属的 5 种蚊子中分离出来，尤其是从致倦库蚊和白线斑蚊中分离出来，但从未从最丰富的库蚊，也就是黑带库蚊中分离出来。一种将鸟类丰度、血清阳性率和脊椎动物储存能力结合起来的计算方法表明，棕噪鸦是该生态系统中的主要扩增宿主。2007 年，哨兵鸡中的西尼罗河病毒传播达到了中等水平，但低于美国归因于西尼罗河病毒的人类疾病爆发时观察到的水平。
