Past Issue
Vol. 7, No. 3
Supplement
Jun 2001 |
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Panel Summary from the 2000
Emerging Infectious Diseases Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
Intercontinental Transmission of West Nile
Virus by Migrating White Storks
Mertyn Malkinson,* Caroline Banet,* Yoram Weisman,* Shimon Pokamonski,† Roni King,‡ and Vincent
Deubel§
*Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan,
Israel; †Israeli Veterinary Services, Beit Dagan,
Israel; ‡Nature Reserves Authority, Israel; and §Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
In September and October 1998, West Nile (WN)
virus was isolated from a flock of 1,200 migrating white
storks (Ciconia ciconia) that had landed in Eilat, a town in
southern Israel. Inclement weather conditions of strong, hot
westerly winds had forced them to fly under considerable
physical stress to reach Eilat. The storks were fledgelings, less than
1 year old, that had hatched in Europe. Analysis of
blood samples taken from several birds within days of their
arrival showed the presence of WN virus-neutralizing
antibodies. Sequence analysis of the envelope glycoprotein gene of
the stork isolate showed almost complete identity with a
sample isolated from a dead goose in Israel in 1998.
Because this Eilat flock was migrating southward
for the first time and had not previously flown over Israel,
we assume that it became infected with WN virus in
Europe. The presence of virus-neutralizing antibodies in
stork serum samples collected from German flocks
provided additional evidence that the birds contracted WN virus
in Europe. These findings indicate that the recent epizootic
of WN virus in Israeli geese had its origin in Europe,
where the virus had been circulating in epidemic
proportions since 1996. Epidemiologic studies of eastern
European epidemics indicate that WN virus may now be endemic
in southern Europe.
Address for correspondence: Mertyn Malkinson, Kimron
Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan, P.O. Box 12, Israel 50250; fax:
972-3-9681739; e-mail: martinm@moag.gov.il
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