Antibody Prevalence of West Nile Virus in Birds, Illinois, 2002

Abstract

Antibodies to West Nile virus were detected in 94 of 1,784 Illinois birds during 2002. Captive and urban birds had higher seropositivity than did birds from natural areas, and northern and central Illinois birds’ seropositivity was greater than that from birds from the southern sites. Adult and hatch-year exposure rates did not differ significantly.

Keywords

• ELISA
• epidemiology
• flavivirus
• Illinois
• serology
• West Nile virus