West Nile Virus Infection in Killer

In 2007, nonsuppurative encephalitis was identified in a killer whale at a Texas, USA, marine park. Panviral DNA microarray of brain tissue suggested West Nile virus (WNV); WNV was confi rmed by reverse transcription PCR and sequencing. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated WNV antigen within neurons. W...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Judy St. Leger, Guang Wu, Mark Anderson, Les Dalton, Erika Nilson, David Wang
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
The Study
harbor seal
Killer Whale
Orca
Orcinus orca
Phoca vitulina
Killer whale
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.306.9606
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/8/pdfs/10-1979.pdf
Description
Summary:In 2007, nonsuppurative encephalitis was identified in a killer whale at a Texas, USA, marine park. Panviral DNA microarray of brain tissue suggested West Nile virus (WNV); WNV was confi rmed by reverse transcription PCR and sequencing. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated WNV antigen within neurons. WNV should be considered in cases of encephalitis in cetaceans. West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus that is transmitted by mosquitoes. In humans and animals, WNV has been associated with a spectrum of clinical conditions from asymptomatic infections to sudden death. These have been identified in a variety of animal species. Among marine mammals, WNV infection has been reported in a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) (1). We describe WNV infection in a killer whale (Orcinus orca) and seroprevalence in conspecific cohort and noncohort groups.

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