A Field Study on the Effects of Fort Morgan Virus, an Arbovirus Transmitted by Swallow Bugs, on the Reproductive Success of Cliff Swallows and Symbiotic House Sparrows in Morgan County, Colorado, 1976 *

Tw, Scott; Gs, Bowen; Tp, Monath

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1984.33.981

Cited by 44 publications

(67 citation statements)

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“…In their study of the Fort Morgan strain of BCRV, Scott et al (1984) found the duration of viremia in nestling House Sparrows to be at least 3-4 days. They had seven nestlings that survived to be bled multiple times and on which they based their estimate of viremia duration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They had seven nestlings that survived to be bled multiple times and on which they based their estimate of viremia duration. However, even though our sample of birds screened was equivalent in number to that of Scott et al (1984) and birds were sampled at approximately the same time intervals, we had only two infected nestlings that survived long enough to estimate the duration of viremia. We would not have detected virus on the second bleed for these birds had we used only plaque assay, the methodology of Scott et al (1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The consequence is that we know relatively little about patterns of natural viremia in birds in the wild and how infection varies with time, bird age, or other factors that potentially affect arbovirus transmission dynamics. Some studies suggest that the typical duration of viremia may be different for birds in the wild versus in the laboratory (Scott et al, 1984) and that immune function varies with time of the summer (Kinnard and Westneat, 2009), thus affecting birds' susceptibility to arbovirus infection. If, for example, viremias in birds in the field are shorter in duration, perhaps because a virus is apt to more rapidly kill wild birds, experimental infection studies on captive birds may overestimate the potential for virus amplification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nestlings offer several advantages for studying natural patterns of arbovirus infection and thus the potential for transmission: 1) large numbers, especially of colonially nesting species (Buescher et al, 1959;Scott et al, 1984;O'Brien et al, 2011), can be located easily and predictably; 2) immunologically naïve nestlings are readily susceptible to infection even in areas where an arbovirus is enzootic and many of the adults have antibodies to the virus (Holden et al, 1973a); 3) nestlings, especially younger ones, may be more likely than adult birds to be fed on by insect vectors because the nestlings have not developed defensive behaviors to thwart biting by arthropods (Blackmore and Dow, 1958;Scott et al, 1990); and 4) nestling birds may not have as welldeveloped immune systems as adults (Apanius, 1998;Klasing and Leschinsky, 1999;Palacios et al, 2009) and therefore may exhibit longer-lasting or higher-titer viremias, facilitating detection and increased virus transmission to uninfected arthropod vectors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae; Alphavirus) and the similar Fort Morgan virus (FMV) commonly infect nestling House Sparrows and can cause serious pathology in nestlings (Hayes et al, 1977;Scott et al, 1984;O'Brien et al, 2010a). The principal vector for BCRV is the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) that transmits the virus to House Sparrows when blood feeding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal Variation and Age-Related Correlates of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae) Infection in Nestling House Sparrows

O’Brien

Brown

2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:Wild birds are rarely found with active arbovirus infections, and relatively little is known about the patterns of viremia they exhibit under field conditions or how infection varies with date, bird age, or other factors that potentially affect transmission dynamics. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an arbovirus associated with colonially nesting Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and transmitted by its vector, the hematophagous swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius), an ectoparasite of the Cliff Swallow. Introduced House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) that have occupied swallow nests at colony sites in peridomestic settings are also exposed to BCRV when fed upon by swallow bugs. We used data from 882 nestling House Sparrows in western Nebraska from 2006 to 2008 to examine seasonal variation and age-related correlates of virus infection in the field. Over 17% of nestling House Sparrows had active infections. Prevalence was higher in 2007 than in 2008 when birds from all colony sites were analyzed, but there was no significant difference between years for sites sampled in both seasons. Buggy Creek virus prevalence was similar in early and late summer, with a peak in midsummer, coinciding with the greatest swallow bug abundance. Nestlings 10 days of age and younger were most commonly infected, and the likelihood of BCRV infection declined for older nestlings. Average viremia titers also declined with age (but did not vary with date) and were high enough at all nestling ages to likely infect blood-feeding arthropods (swallow bugs). Length of viremia for nestlings in the field was $4 days, in agreement with an earlier study of BCRV. Nestling birds offer many advantages for field studies of arbovirus amplification and transmission.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Seasonal Variation and Age-Related Correlates of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae) Infection in Nestling House Sparrows

O’Brien

Brown

2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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Arboviruses in Birds

McLean¹,

Ubico²

2007

Infectious Diseases of Wild Birds

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The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

Brown

Hannebaum

O’Brien

et al. 2021

Ecological Monographs

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Host-parasite dynamics often vary over time, brought about by changes in the parasite's virulence or the host's ability to resist or tolerate the parasite. Although virulence evolution in microparasites is well studied, we know little about temporal change in the pathogenicity of macroparasites such as blood-feeding insects. Using data collected over 35 yr, we report a reduction in pathogenicity of the hematophagous swallow bug (Cimex vicarius) on its Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) host. Relative to experimentally fumigated, parasite-free nests, the negative effects of bugs on nestling swallow body mass and survival were less in the later years of the study than in the earlier years, and the negative relationship between nestling body mass and bug abundance became weaker over time. The survival of adult birds exposed to swallow bugs increased throughout the study, while survival of birds from parasitefree nests decreased over time. Swallow bug abundance per nest, bug body size, and bug age ratios did not change during the study. Between-colony transmission of bugs showed less immigration into larger colonies than in earlier studies, but there was no net change in transmission. Cliff Swallows did not reduce their exposure to bugs over time by being more likely to avoid infested nest or colony sites. Parents increased the number of food deliveries to their offspring over time in the presence of parasites, but the total amount of food delivered was unchanged. The reduced cost of swallow bug ectoparasitism does not seem related to changes in parasite narrow-sense virulence, the host's avoidance of parasites, the presence of alternative hosts for bugs, or climate-driven phenological mismatches. The results probably reflect the Cliff Swallow's evolving of greater tolerance to swallow bugs, brought about by the bird's shift from natural cliff nesting sites to artificial structures that may harbor more bugs than natural cliffs. This study shows that hosts can respond relatively rapidly to high levels of parasitism, and provides support for models that suggest the evolution of tolerance should be expected in some host-parasite systems.

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A Field Study on the Effects of Fort Morgan Virus, an Arbovirus Transmitted by Swallow Bugs, on the Reproductive Success of Cliff Swallows and Symbiotic House Sparrows in Morgan County, Colorado, 1976 *

Cited by 44 publications

References 0 publications

Seasonal Variation and Age-Related Correlates of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae) Infection in Nestling House Sparrows

Seasonal Variation and Age-Related Correlates of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae) Infection in Nestling House Sparrows

Arboviruses in Birds

The cost of ectoparasitism in Cliff Swallows declines over 35 years

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