Dahlin C R, Hughes D F, Meshaka W E, Coleman C, Henning J D
Department of Biology, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Johnstown, PA 15904, United States.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, United States.
One Health. 2016 Sep 22;2:136-138. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2016.09.003. eCollection 2016 Dec.
West Nile virus (WNV) has a complex eco-epidemiology with birds acting as reservoirs and hosts for the virus. Less well understood is the role of reptiles, especially in wild populations. The goal of our study was to determine whether a wild population of snakes in Pennsylvania harbored WNV. Six species of snakes were orally sampled in the summer of 2013 and were tested for the presence of WNV viral RNA using RT-PCR. Two Eastern Garter Snakes, tested positive for viral RNA (2/123, 1.62%). These results indicate a possible role for snakes in the complex transmission cycle of WNV.
西尼罗河病毒(WNV)具有复杂的生态流行病学,鸟类是该病毒的储存宿主。人们对爬行动物的作用了解较少,尤其是在野生种群中。我们研究的目的是确定宾夕法尼亚州的野生蛇类种群是否携带西尼罗河病毒。2013年夏天,对六种蛇进行了口腔采样,并使用逆转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)检测西尼罗河病毒RNA的存在。两条东部束带蛇的病毒RNA检测呈阳性(123条中有2条,1.62%)。这些结果表明蛇在西尼罗河病毒复杂的传播循环中可能起到一定作用。