The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Georgia Veterinary Scholars Program

GVSP Summer 2006 Scholars

Georgia Veterinary Scholar	Faculty Mentor

Laura Coffee University of Georgia Class of 2008	Dr. David Stallknect

Avian paramyxoviruses in shorebirds migrating across the Atlantic flyway.
Laura L. Coffee and David E. Stallknech
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA

Avian paramyxoviruses (APMV) consist of nine serotypes (1-9) including APMV-1 or Newcastle disease virus (NDv). Although free-flying ducks and geese have been extensively monitored for APMV, limited information is available for shorebirds in the order Chadriiformes. From 2000 to 2005 we tested cloacal swabs from 9,578 shorebirds (34 species, 5 families) captured in 14 states along the Atlantic flyway and 3 countries in the Caribbean and South America; APMV were isolated from 58 (0.6%) of these samples by inoculation of embryonating chicken eggs. All 58 isolates came from birds at Delaware Bay and 45 (77.6%) were from ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres). The APMV-1 infection rate was four times higher among ruddy turnstones compared with other species. This relationship varied by year, and the prevalence in ruddy turnstones peaked in 2003 when ruddy turnstones on the southern shore of the Delaware Bay were disproportionately affected. Seventeen APMV-2 isolates were obtained from birds (15 isolates from ruddy turnstones) at Deleware Bay in 2001 (2/394 [0.51%]) and 2002 (13/735 [1.77%]). Similar to the 2003 APMV-1 data, a higher prevalence of APMV-2 was observed from birds sampled on the south shore of Delaware Bay. This spatial variation may be related local movements of ruddy turnstones within this ecosystem as this relationship was not observed with APMV in other shorebird species sampled at Delaware Bay. The higher prevalence for APMV in ruddy turnstones and the higher isolation rates associated with Deleware Bay mirror results observed for avian influenza viruses in shorebirds and may suggest similar patterns of transmission. Ruddy turnstones may represent a good sentinel species for both of these viruses.