Work

Age-Related Susceptibility to Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Domestic Ducklings and Chicks

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Ardeid birds and pigs are known as major amplifying hosts for Japanese encephalitis virus, and ducklings and chickens have been considered to play at best a minor role in outbreaks because of their low or absent viremia. We hypothesized that viremia of sufficient magnitude would develop in young ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos) and chicks (Gallus gallus) for them to serve as reservoir hosts and thereby contribute to the transmission cycle. Infection was associated with reduced weight gain in both species, and ducklings infected at 10 days of age or less showed overt clinical signs of disease. The mean peak viremia in birds of both species decreased as the age at infection increased from 2 to 42 days, indicating the importance of age of infection on magnitude of viremia in birds from both species, and suggesting that young poultry may be amplifying hosts of importance in disease-endemic regions.

Source: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0161

Authors: Natalie B. Cleton, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Michael J. Page, Richard A. Bowen

Institutions: Bentley University, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Colorado State University

Language: English

Topic: Mosquito-borne diseases and control

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Zero hunger

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases