Journal article
Quantifying the Risk of Introduction of West Nile Virus into Great Britain by Migrating Passerine Birds
PR Bessell, RA Robinson, N Golding, KR Searle, IG Handel, LA Boden, BV Purse, BMDC Bronsvoort
Transboundary and Emerging Diseases | WILEY | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12310
Open access
Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito borne arbovirus that circulates within avian reservoirs. WNV can spill over into humans and Equidae that are dead-end hosts for WNV but suffer fever, acute morbidity and sometimes death. Outbreaks of WNV are common across Africa and Eastern Europe, and there have also been sporadic outbreaks in Spain and the Camargue Regional Park in France, but never in Great Britain (GB). These areas all fall along a major bird migration route. In this study, we analyse a scenario in which WNV is circulating in the Camargue or in other wetland areas in France and we estimate the risk of northward migrating passerine birds stopping in a WNV hotspot, becoming infected and ..
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Awarded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
PRB and LAB are funded by the Scottish Government funded EPIC project. NG is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda gates Foundation (#OPP1053338). BMCB is supported by Institute Strategic Funding from the BBSRC. KRS and BVP are supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. The BTO Ringing Scheme is funded by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of: Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and Scottish Natural Heritage and the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland), The National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland) and the ringers themselves.