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An Enzootic Vector-Borne Virus Is Amplified At Epizootic Levels By An Invasive Avian Host, Valerie A. O'Brien, Amy T. Moore, Ginger R. Young, Nicolas Komar, William K. Reisen, Charles R. Brown

Other Publications in Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease

Determining the effect of an invasive species on enzootic pathogen dynamics is critical for understanding both human epidemics and wildlife epizootics. Theoretical models suggest that when a naive species enters an established host–parasite system, the new host may either reduce (‘dilute’) or increase (‘spillback’) pathogen transmission to native hosts. There are few empirical data to evaluate these possibilities, especially for animal pathogens. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an arthropod-borne alphavirus that is enzootically transmitted by the swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) to colonially nesting cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). In western Nebraska, introduced house sparrows (Passer domesticus …