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West Nile virus in farmed alligators
Debra L Miller1, Michael J Mauel, Charles Baldwin
1University of Georgia, Tifton, Georgia 31793, USA. dmiller@tifton.uga.edu
Emerging Infectious Diseases
|August 2, 2003
Summary
West Nile virus caused illness and death in alligators during two outbreaks. The virus was detected in sick alligators and the horsemeat fed to them.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Pathology
- Wildlife Disease Ecology
- Arbovirology
Background:
- Alligators in captivity experienced unexplained mortality during fall epizootics in 2001 and 2002.
- Histopathological examination revealed multiorgan necrosis and inflammation, suggesting infectious causes like septicemia, bacteremia, or viral infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cause of mortality in captive alligators during two distinct epizootics.
- To identify the causative agent responsible for the observed pathological findings in affected alligators.
Main Methods:
- Necropsy and histopathological evaluation of seven affected alligators.
- Isolation of potential pathogens and molecular detection using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
- Analysis of feed (horsemeat) for the presence of the identified pathogen.
Main Results:
- Histology indicated septicemia/bacteremia in juveniles and a viral etiology in a hatchling.
- West Nile virus (WNV) was isolated from an alligator in 2002.
- RT-PCR confirmed WNV in 1/4 cases from 2001 and 3/3 cases from 2002. WNV was detected in horsemeat from the 2002 outbreak.
Conclusions:
- West Nile virus was identified as the causative agent in the 2002 alligator epizootic.
- The contaminated horsemeat diet is a likely source of WNV infection for the captive alligators.
- This study highlights the potential for WNV to affect crocodilians and implicates contaminated feed sources in disease outbreaks.