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Modified:
Nov 4, 2004
West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus
Bibliography of Scientific Literature (E)

  • Eads, Richard B. 1972. Recovery of Aedes albopictus From Used Tires Shipped to United States Ports. Mosquito News 32:113-114.
  • Eastern Regional Early Response Team (ERT). October 1999.Investigation of a Cluster of Equine Neurologic Illness- Jamesport, NY. USDA APHIS. 10 pages. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

    Summary: From August 26, through October 8, 1999 a total of 18 cases of equine neurologic illness were diagnosed among horses residing in Suffolk County, New York. The illness was characterized by an acute onset of ataxia with rapidly progressive neuromuscular involvement leading to recumbency. The case mortality rate, including euthanized horses, was 44% (8/18). Based on clinical, serological and histological evidence, these cases are most likely attributable to a viral encephalitis, possibly caused by West Nile Virus.
  • Ebel, Gregory D., Alan P. Dupuis II, Kiet Ngo, David Nicholas, Elizabeth Kauffman, Susan A. Jones, Donna Young, Joseph Maffei, Pei-Yong Shi, Kristen Bernard, and Laura D. Kramer. 2001. Partial Genetic Characterization of West Nile Virus Strains, New York State, 2000. Emerging Infectious Diseases 7(4): 650-653. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol7no4/ebel.htm

    Abstract: We analyzed nucleotide sequences from the envelope gene of 11 West Nile virus (WNV) strains collected in New York State during the 2000 transmission season to determine whether they differed genetically from each other and from the initial strain isolated in 1999. The complete envelope genes of these strains were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The resulting sequences were aligned, the genetic distances were computed, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. Ten (0.7%) of 1,503 positions in the envelope gene were polymorphic in one or more sequences. The genetic distances were 0.003 or less. WNV strains circulating in 2000 were homogeneous with respect to one another and to a strain isolated in 1999.
  • Eidson, Millicent. 2001. "Neon Needles" in a Haystack. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 951(1):38. http://www.annalsnyas.org/cgi/content/full/951/1/38.

    Passive surveillance is usually viewed as less efficient for case ascertainment than active surveillance. However, for diseases with nonhuman animal reservoirs, active surveillance can be like looking for a needle in a haystack and may be prohibitively expensive. Fortunately for surveillance of West Nile virus (WNV) in the northeast US, the dead crows have served as "neon needles in a haystack"—indicators of viral activity that call attention to themselves. In 2000, laboratory testing of dead birds, including all species, birds found singly, with signs of trauma, or no compatible pathology, provided the first confirmation of viral activity in most areas. The surveillance factor most closely associated with the number of human cases was the dead crow density. In 2001, dead crow densities will be used as an additional index for monitoring human risk and need for prevention and control activities. If there are few crows in an area, if their case-fatality rate is reduced, or if there is public complacency about reporting dead crow sightings, this passive surveillance indicator may not be helpful in identifying areas likely to have occasional human cases or an outbreak.

  • Eidson, Millicent, Nicholas Komar, Faye Sorhage, Randall Nelson, Tom Talbot, Farzad Mostashari, Rober McLean, and the West Nile Virus Avian Mortality Surveillance Group. 2001. Crow Deaths as a Sentinel Surveillance System for West Nile Virus in the Northeastern United States, 1999. Emerging Infectious Diseases 7(4): 615-620.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol7no4/eidson2.htm

    Abstract: In addition to human encephalitis and meningitis cases, the West Nile (WN) virus outbreak in the summer and fall of 1999 in New York State resulted in bird deaths in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. From August to December 1999, 295 dead birds were laboratory-confirmed with WN virus infection; 262 (89%) were American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). The New York State Department of Health received reports of 17,339 dead birds, including 5,697 (33%) crows; in Connecticut 1,040 dead crows were reported. Bird deaths were critical in identifying WNV as the cause of the human outbreak and defining its limits. If established before a WNV outbreak, a surveillance system based on bird deaths may provide a sensitive method of detecting WNV.
  • Eidson, Millicent, Laura Kramer, Ward Stone, Yoichiro Hagiwara, Kate Schmit, and The New York State West Nile Virus Avian Surveillance Team. 2001. Dead Bird Surveillance as an Early Warning System for West Nile Virus. Emerging Infectious Diseases 7(4): 631-635. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol7no4/eidson1.htm

    Abstract: As part of West Nile (WN) virus surveillance in New York State in 2000, 71,332 ill or dead birds were reported; 17,571 (24.6%) of these were American Crows. Of 3,976 dead birds tested, 1,263 (31.8%) were positive for WN virus. Viral activity was first confirmed in 60 of the state's 62 counties with WN virus-positive dead birds. Pathologic findings compatible with WN virus were seen in 1,576 birds (39.6% of those tested), of which 832 (52.8%) were positive for WN virus. Dead crow reports preceded confirmation of viral activity by several months, and WN virus-positive birds were found >3 months before the onset of human cases. Dead bird surveillance appears to be valuable for early detection of WN virus and for guiding public education and mosquito control efforts.
  • Eidson, Millicent, Jim Miller, Laura Kramer, Bryan Cherry, Yoichiro Hagiwara, and the West Nile Virus Bird Mortality Analysis Group. 2001. Dead Crow Densities and Human Cases of West Nile Virus, New York State, 2000. Emerging Infectious Diseases 7(4):662-664. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no4/eidson3.htm

    Abstract: In 2000, Staten Island, New York, reported 10 human West Nile virus cases and high densities of dead crows. Surrounding counties with < 2 human cases had moderate dead crow densities, and upstate counties with no human cases had low dead crow densities. Monitoring such densities may be helpful because this factor may be determined without the delays associated with specimen collection and testing.
  • Eil C., Nisula B.C. 1990. The Binding Properties of Pyrethroids to Human Skin Fibroblast Androgen Receptors and to Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry 35(3-4):409-14

    Abstract: The pyrethroids are a class of natural and synthetic pesticides which were associated with an epidemic of gynecomastia in Haitian men in 1981. In the present study we tested several pyrethroids for their ability to interact with androgen binding sites in dispersed, intact human genital skin fibroblasts and in human plasma to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). All the pyrethroids tested inhibited fibroblast binding of [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881) at 22 degrees C with the following rank order of potency:pyrethrins greater than bioallethrin greater than fenvalerate greater than fenothrin greater than fluvalinate greater than permethrin greater than resmethrin. 50% displacement of [3H]R1881 binding to fibroblast androgen receptors was achieved by 1.5-44 x 10(-5) M concentrations of the competitors, respectively. Previous studies with cimetidine, a known inhibitor of androgen receptor binding, showed 50% competition at a concentration of 1.4 x 10(-4) M in this system. Scatchard analysis of binding experiments performed with increasing concentrations of [3H]R1881 in the presence of the pyrethroids indicated that the binding inhibition was competitive. On the other hand, of the pyrethroids examined only the pyrethrins (50% inhibition) and bioallethrin (43% inhibition) were able to displace [3H]testosterone from SHBG when tested at a concentration of 10(-4) M. These data indicate that a novel class of non-steroidal compounds, the pyrethroids, can interact competitively with human androgen receptors and SHBG. These findings provide a mechanism by which chronic exposure of humans or animals to pesticides containing these compounds may result in disturbances in endocrine effects relating to androgen action.
  • Emmel, Thomas C. and John C. Tucker, eds. 1991. Mosquito Control Pesticides: Ecological Impacts and Management Alternatives. Proceedings of a Conference held January 18, 1991 at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Scientific Publishers, Inc., Mariposa Press Edition: Gainesville, Florida. 105pp.
    Copies available from Amazon.com for $9.80 plus $4.48 shippping/handling.

    Preface--Conference Goals: Pesticides have been used to control mosquito populations throughout the world for many years. Pesticides have proved remarkably effective in reducing or eliminating mosquito-vectored diseases, which pose serious health threats to human, and in reducing mosquito populations to levels which are tolerable to humans. However, mosquito control pesticides are also suspected of harming a variety of non-target organisms, either through direct poisoning or by poisoning the prey base in the food chains of non-target organisms. The purposes of this conference were to characterize actual and potential adverse effects of mosquito control pesticides on non-target species; to examine alternatives to pesticide use and critically evaluate current mosquito control program practices; and to examine existing regulatory programs and, if warranted, to develop regulatory or institutional initiatives to reduce or eliminate adverse effects of mosquito control pesticides in the natural as well as urban environment.

    Recommendations for Less Damaging Alternatives in Mosquito Control. Pp. 61-66 in "Mosquito Control Pesticides". Abstract: Mosquito control in Florida, which started in the 1920's with source reduction methods, has become more and more dependent on sophisticated application of adulticides by aerial and ground means. While much of the application done in mosquito-control districts officially follows federal, state, and manufacturer guidelines as to quantities employed and application procedures used, these quantities and spraying procedures may result in unfortunately deleterious impacts on non-target terrestrial and aquatic animal species. A series of recommendations for less-damaging alternatives is advanced, including especially (1) broader research on biological controls for mosquitoes and implementation of the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), (2) requiring the equivalent of environmental impact statement studies to be carried out in areas where non-target wildlife may be adversely impacted by spraying, and (3) the adjustment of spraying amounts or spraying schedules to meet the requirements not only of mosquito control but of safe practice as regards the niches and activity cycles (both daily and annual) of endangered species and other non-target wildlife. Effective mosquito control together with better protection of the environment is possible if all environmental and mosquito-control interest are taken into account in each treated area.
  • Enserink, Martin. 2000. The Enigma of West Nile. Science 290 (November 24, 2000): 1482-1484. http://www.sciencemag.org.

    Author's Summary: Fifteen months after the 1999 outbreak of West Nile virus in New York City, which sickened 62 mostly elderly people and killed seven, scientists are still hard pressed to predict how abundant the virus will eventually become or how serious a public health threat it will pose. This summer, the human toll has been relatively mild, with just 18 cases and one death. But the virus has been found in more than 60 bird species and about a dozen mammals; in a little more than a year, it has spread to 11 states along the East Coast and the District of Columbia. And with no natural barriers to stop it, scientists can safely say that it will keep spreading.
  • Epstein, Paul R. and C Defilippo. 2001. West Nile virus and drought. Global Change & Human Health 2(2):105-107. http://ipsapp007.lwwonline.com/content/getfile/4731/4/7/fulltext.pdf

    Abstract: West Nile virus was first reported in Uganda in 1937. WNV is a zoonosis, with Ňspill-overÓ to humans, which also poses significant risks for wildlife, zoo and domestic animal populations. While it is not known how West Nile virus (WNV) entered the New World in 1999, anomalous weather conditions may have helped amplify this Flavivirus that circulates among urban mosquitoes, birds and mammals. We analyzed weather patterns coincident with a series of U.S. urban outbreaks of St. Louis encephalitis (SLE), (a disease with a similar life cycle), and four recent large outbreaks of WNV. Drought emerged as a common feature. As the potential risks from pesticides for disease control must be weighed against the health risks of the disease, an early warning system of conditions conducive to amplification of the enzootic cycle could help initiate timely preventive measures, and potentially limit chemical interventions.

  • Epstein, Paul R. August 2000. Is Global Warming Harmful to Health? Scientific American 50-57. (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0008C7B2-E060-1C73-9B81809EC588EF21&catID=2)

    Summary and Key Points: This article makes important links between global climate change, systems ecology and public health, noting that "computer models indicate that many diseases will surge as the earth's atmosphere heats up, [and that] signs of predicted troubles have begun to appear." Following the sub-heading: "Mosquitoes Rule in the Heat," with examples drawn from malaria and dengue fever, attention turns to West Nile Virus with a graphic illustrating a hypothesized relationship between "Weather and West Nile Virus." Key elements include a series of mild winters preceding the 1999 NYC-area outbreak, during which mosquito populations grew and flourished; a dry spring and summer during which birds congregated in smaller areas than usual and mosquito larvae were well nourished by higher concentrations of nutrients; a July 1999 heat wave during which the virus proliferated in infected mosquitoes; and drenching August rains which created new breeding sites for late season mosquito reproduction. Paul Epstein is a physician trained in tropical public health and is associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.
  • Epstein, Paul R., Henry F. Diaz, Scott Elias, Gerog Grabherr, Nicholoas E. Graham, Willem J.M. Martens, Ellen Mosley-Thompson and Joel Susskind. 1998. Biological and Physical Signs of Climate Change: Focus on Mosquito-Borne Disease. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 79: 409-417.
  • Ernek, E, O. Kozuch, J. Nosek, J. Teplan and C. Folk. 1977.Arboviruses in Birds Captured in Slovakia Journal of Hygiene, Epidemiology, Microbiology, and Immunology 21:353-259.

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