Miles J A
J Hyg (Lond). 1973 Dec;71(4):701-13. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400022968.
The findings of a survey on the ecology of an alphavirus over the years 1964-9 are reviewed. Evidence is presented to show that wild birds constitute a vertebrate reservoir of the virus and that mosquitoes, primarily Culiseta tonnoiri and Culex pervigilans, which are both endemic New Zealand species, are responsible for summer transmission.Serological evidence of infection was obtained in all years and evidence is presented to indicate that the virus is enzootic rather than being reintroduced each spring. The number of birds with antibody increased before mosquitoes became active in the spring and possible explanations of this are discussed.The mean temperature in the hottest month in the study area is substantially below that in other areas with enzootic mosquito-borne viruses and experimental studies showed that Whataroa virus was able to replicate more rapidly in mosquitoes at low temperatures than any arboviruses previously studied.The main natural focus of infection appeared to be in a modified habitat and the introduced song thrush (Turdus philomelos) to be the main vertebrate reservoir host.
本文回顾了1964年至1969年期间对一种甲病毒生态学的调查结果。有证据表明，野生鸟类是该病毒的脊椎动物宿主，而主要为新西兰本土物种的托氏库蚊和环跗库蚊是夏季传播的媒介。所有年份均获得了感染的血清学证据，且有证据表明该病毒呈地方流行性，而非每年春季重新传入。春季蚊子活跃之前，有抗体的鸟类数量增加，并对这一现象的可能解释进行了讨论。研究区域最热月份的平均温度显著低于其他存在蚊媒病毒地方流行的区域，实验研究表明，瓦塔罗阿病毒在低温下比之前研究的任何虫媒病毒都能在蚊子体内更快地复制。主要的自然感染疫源地似乎位于一个改良后的栖息地，引入的歌鸫似乎是主要的脊椎动物宿主。
