ECOLOGY OF ARBOVIRUSES IN A MARYLAND FRESHWATER SWAMP

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Abstract
Dalrymple, J. M., O. P. Young, B. F. Eldridge and P. K. Russell (Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20012). Ecology of arboviruses in a Maryland freshwater swamp. III. Vertebrate hosts. Am J Epidemiol 96: 129–140, 1972.—A study of the ecology of western and eastern equine encephalitis (WEE & EEE) viruses in the Pocomoke Cypress Swamp indicated that wild birds were prominently involved in virus amplification during the summer. Both EEE and WEE viruses were isolated from birds, however WEE virus activity was greater. A peak of WEE virus transmission during July and August was recorded during which 90% of exposed sentinel Bobwhite Quail were infected. Summer and permanent swamp resident bird populations were most involved and detailed examination of a single species, White-eyed Vireo, indicated that juvenile birds were infected soon after fledging. The immune status of wild bird populations appeared to exert a pronounced effect on transmission and maintenance of these enzootic viruses. The significance of the findings of the papers in this series is discussed in regard to stability of the enzootic focus, the annual reappearance of virus, virus amplification, and potential epizootic mechanisms.

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