Host heterogeneity dominates West Nile virus transmission

Heterogeneity in host populations and communities can have large effects on the transmission and control of a pathogen. In extreme cases, a few individuals give rise to the majority of secondary infections, which have been termed super spreading events. Here, we show that transmission of West Nile v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2006-09, Vol.273 (1599), p.2327-2333
Main Authors: Kilpatrick, A.M, Jones, M.J, Marra, P.P, Kramer, L.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal feeding behavior
Animals
Birds
Birds - virology
Culicidae
Culicidae - physiology
Culicidae - virology
disease reservoirs
Disease transmission
Epidemiology
Feeding Behavior - physiology
host-pathogen relationships
Host-Vector Contact Rate
hostvector contact rate
Infections
Infectiousness
Mosquitos
Pathogens
R 0
Reproductive Ratio
Reservoir Host
Sparrows
species diversity
Super Spreading Events
Turdus
Turdus migratorius
viral diseases of animals and humans
Viruses
West Nile Fever - transmission
West Nile virus
West Nile virus - isolation & purification
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Summary:Heterogeneity in host populations and communities can have large effects on the transmission and control of a pathogen. In extreme cases, a few individuals give rise to the majority of secondary infections, which have been termed super spreading events. Here, we show that transmission of West Nile virus (WNV) is dominated by extreme heterogeneity in the host community, resulting in highly inflated reproductive ratios. A single relatively uncommon avian species, American robin (Turdus migratorius), appeared to be responsible for the majority of WNV-infectious mosquitoes and acted as the species equivalent of a super spreader for this multi-host pathogen. Crows were also highly preferred by mosquitoes at some sites, while house sparrows were significantly avoided. Nonetheless, due to their relative rarity, corvids (crows and jays) were relatively unimportant in WNV amplification. These results challenge current beliefs about the role of certain avian species in WNV amplification and demonstrate the importance of determining contact rates between vectors and host species to understand pathogen transmission dynamics.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2006.3575