Host heterogeneity dominates West Nile virus transmission
Open accessAbstract
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.
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Culex mosquitoes appear to prefer to feed on some bird species while avoiding others.
“Culex mosquitoes appear to prefer to feed on some bird species while avoiding others (Kilpatrick et al. 2006; Hamer et al. 2009, in press)”
From Avian host community structure and prevalence of West Nile virus in Chicago, Illinois (2009) · cites this paper as Kilpatrick et al. 2006
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- Authors
- Marm Kilpatrick, A., Daszak, P., Jones, M. J., Marra, P. P., & Kramer, L. D.
- Affiliations
- Consortium for Conservation Medicine460 West 34th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA
- New York State Department of Health (US)
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2006-05-23
- Volume
- 273
- Issue
- 1599
- Pages
- 2327-2333
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC1636093
- OpenAlex
- W2135957412
- Cited by
- 533
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 48 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 19.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Smithsonian Digital Repository (Smithsonian Institution) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Smithsonian Institution
- V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (n01ai25490-12-0-1)
- National Museum of Natural History
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (N01 AI025490, #NO1-AI-25490)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Parasitology › Bird parasitology and diseases
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models
- Keywords
- West Nile virus, host heterogeneity, superspreading events, mosquito-bird transmission, American robin, Turdus migratorius, Passer domesticus, Corvidae
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Birds, Feeding Behavior, Culicidae, West Nile Fever, West Nile virus
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