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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

In Vitro Analysis of Myd88-mediated Cellular Immune Response to West Nile Virus Mutant Strain Infection
Published on: November 27, 2014
West Nile Virus in Hummingbirds in California, USA, 2005-17
Laura Backus1, Leslie Foss2, Lisa A Tell1
1School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Abstract:
Although West Nile virus (WNV) infects many avian species, the prevalence and impact of WNV in hummingbirds (Family Trochilidae) have not been described. We focused on hummingbird mortality and WNV infection using data from the state of California's Dead Bird Surveillance Program for the years 2005-17. The overall prevalence of WNV in tested carcasses was 10.1% (49/486), with annual prevalence ranging from 0-28%. Prevalence by county ranged from 0-40% while prevalence by species ranged from 0-12%. We demonstrated that hummingbirds were naturally infected with WNV and displayed temporal and spatial patterns of infection consistent with trends observed in other avian species.
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