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Pathogenic Microbiology Commons

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Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

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Papers in Ornithology

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2011

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Full-Text Articles in Pathogenic Microbiology

Group Size And Nest Spacing Affect Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) Infection In Nestling House Sparrows, Valerie A. Brown, Charles R. Brown Sep 2011

Group Size And Nest Spacing Affect Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae: Alphavirus) Infection In Nestling House Sparrows, Valerie A. Brown, Charles R. Brown

Papers in Ornithology

The transmission of parasites and pathogens among vertebrates often depends on host population size, host species diversity, and the extent of crowding among potential hosts, but little is known about how these variables apply to most vector-borne pathogens such as the arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses). Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae: Alphavirus) is an RNA arbovirus transmitted by the swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) to the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and the introduced house sparrow (Passer domesticus) that has recently invaded swallow nesting colonies. The virus has little impact on cliff swallows, but house sparrows are seriously …