Species Found Positive for West Nile Virus as of 15 October 2003

This is a compendium of species found positive for having been exposed to the West Nile virus.  This list

• does NOT indicate that West Nile is necessarily fatal to the species listed but simply that at least one was brought dead to a state health department and tested. That organism may have died from other causes.
• Some species on the list were also caught live and found to carry antibody (marked with ^L). 
• Please also note that viral competency cannot be inferred merely by being on this list.

This list is derived from several sources, most heavily from those of the USGS National Wildlife Health Centers and ProMed lists.  Species listed with an asterisk (*) were of initial individuals in captivity and may or may not be from the New World.  Errors or updates can be reported to Lisa Reed at lreed@rci.rutgers.edu  Photos by L. Reed unless otherwise stated.

"Summary of West Nile virus-positive findings from March 2003 through Sep 2003: 6807 (145 deaths) Humans, 2767 Equines, 43 Other Mammals, 9882  (? crows) Birds, 6179 Mosquito Pools, and 846 in 13 states Sentinel Chicken Flocks, 8 Sentinel Horses.    (source: CDC/ProMed/West Nile Wildlife Workshop)

"Summary of West Nile virus-positive findings from March 2002 through Feb 2003: 4156 (284 deaths) Humans, 13577 Equines, 13 Other Mammals, 15745 (7325 crows) Birds, 6033 Mosquito Pools, and 366 Sentinel Chicken Flocks    (source: CDC/ProMed/West Nile Wildlife Workshop)

"Summary of all West Nile virus-positive findings from March 2001 through 14 November 2001: 48 Humans, 416 Equines, ? Other Mammals, 6101 Birds, 756 Mosquito Pools, and 6 Sentinel Birds" (source: ProMed)  (sentinels through 22 Aug)

"Summary of all West Nile virus-positive findings from 1 May 2000 through 1 Dec 2000: 19 Humans, 57 Equines, 26 Other Mammals, 4324 Birds, 478 Mosquito Pools, and 12 Sentinel Birds" (source: ProMed)

See the distribution based on USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service's map (Acrobat Reader required).  See also the West Nile maps of Nationalatlas.gov (archived to 2000) or the current maps at USGS.

Common Name - Avian	Scientific	American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
American Crow L	Corvus brachyrhynchos
American Goldfinch	Carduelis tristis
American Kestrel	Falco sparverius
American Magpie *	Pica hudsonia
American Robin	Turdus migratorius
Andean Condor *	Vultur gryphus
Bald Eagle *	Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Baltimore Oriole	Icterus galbula
Barred Owl	Strix varia
Belted Kingfisher	Ceryle alcyon
Black-capped Chickadee	Poecile atricapilla
Black-crowned Night Heron *	Nycticorax nycticorax
Black-footed Penguin *	Sphenicus demersus
Blackpoll Warbler	Dendroica striata
Black Skimmer	Rynchops niger
Black-throated Blue Warbler	Dendroica caerulescens
Black Vulture	Coragyps atratus	Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater
Blue Jay	Cyanocitta cristata
Blythe's Tragopan *	Tragopan blythii
Boat-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus major
Brewer's Blackbird	Euphagus cyanocephalus
Broad-winged Hawk	Buteo platypterus
Bronzed-winged Duck *	Anas specularis
Brown Thrasher	Toxostoma rufum
Brown-headed Cowbird	Molothrus ater
Budgerigar *	Melopsittacus undulatus
Canada Goose	Branta canadensis
Canada Warbler	Wilsonia canadensis
Carolina Chickadee	Poecile carolinensis
Carolina Wren	Thryothorus ludoviciantus
Cedar Waxwing	Bombycilla cedrorum
Cockatiel *	Nymphicus hollandicus
Cockatoo *	Cacatua ?
Common Grackle	Quiscalis quiscala
Common Ground Dove	Columbina passerina
Common Nighthawk	Chordeiles minor	European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Common Raven	Corvus corax
Common Yellowthroat L	Geothlypis trichas
Cooper's Hawk	Accipiter cooperii
Dicksissel	Calandra pratensis
Double-crested Cormorant	Phalacrocorax auritus
Domestic Chicken	Gallus sp.
Domestic Duck (Peking)	Anas platyrhynchos
Domestic Goose	Anser sp.
Domestic Turkey	Megagallus sp.
Eastern Bluebird	Sialia sialis
Eastern Phoebe	Sayornis phoebe
Eastern Tufted Titmouse	Baeolophus bicolor
Eastern Wild Turkey	Meleagris gallopavo
European Starling	Sturnus vulgaris
Fish Crow L	Corvus ossifragus
Fox Sparrow	Passerella iliaca
Chilean Flamingo *	Phoenicopterus chilensis	Flamingoes at the L.A. Zoo,
Golden Eagle	Aquila chrysaetos
Gray Catbird L	Dumatella carolinensis
Great Black-backed Gull	Larus marinus
Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias
Great Horned Owl	Bubo virginianus
Great-tailed Grackle	Quiscalus mexicanus
Green Heron	Butorides virescens
Guanay Cormorant *	Phalacrocorax bougainvillii
Hermit Thrush	Catharus guttatus
Herring Gull	Larus argentatus
Hooded Warbler	Wilsonia citrina
House Finch	Carpodacus mexicanus
House Sparrow L	Passer domesticus
Impeyan Pheasants	Lophophorus impeyanus
Killdeer	Charadrius vociferus	House Sparrow (Passer domesticus),
Laughing Gull *	Larus atricilla
Least Bittern	Ixobrychus exilis
Loggerhead Shrike	Lanius ludovicianus
Lorikeet	Trichoglossus haemotod
Macaw *	Ara sp.
Mallard *	Anas platyrhynchos
Merlin	Falco columbarius
Mississippi Sandhill Crane	Grus canadensis pulla
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura
Mute Swan	Cygnus olor
Nashville Warbler	Vermivora ruficapilla
Northern Cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis
Northern Flicker	Colaptes auratus
Northern Mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos
Northern Parula	Parula americana
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Ovenbird	Seiurus aurocapillus
Parakeet *	?
Peacock *	Pavo sp.
Peregrine Falcon *	Falco peregrinus
Purple Finch	Carpodacus purpureus
Purple Martin	Progne subis
Red-headed Woodpecker	Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-shouldered Hawk	Buteo lineatus
Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis
Red-winged Blackbird	Agelaius phoeniceus
Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis
Ring-necked Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus
Rock Dove	Columba livia	Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Archilochus colubris
Ruddy Turnstone	Arenaria interpres
Ruffed Grouse	Bonasa umbellus
Rusty Blackbird	Euphagus carolinus
Sanderling	Calidris alba
Sandhill Crane *	Grus canadensis
Savannah Sparrow	Passerculus sandwichensis
Scarlet Ibis	Eudocimus ruber
Sharp-shinned Hawk	Accipiter striatus
Short-eared Owl	Asio flammeus
Snowy Owl	Nyctea scandia
Song Sparrow	Melospiza melodia	Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
Swainson's Thrush	Catharus ustulatus
Swallow-tailed Kite	Elanoides forficatus
Varied Tit	Sittiparus varius
Veery	Catharus fuscescens
Virginia Rail	Rallus limicola
Warbling Vireo	Vireo gilvus
White-breasted Nuthatch	Sitta carolinensis
White-crowned Pigeon	Columba leucocephala
Wood Duck	Aix sponsa
Wood Thrush	Hylocichla mustelina
Yellow Warbler	Dendroica petechia
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Sphyrapicus varius
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Coccyzus americanus
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Dendroica coronata
Zebra Finch	Poephila guttata
Other Vertebrate Species:		White-tailed deer (photo by Ary Farajollahi)
Black Bear L	Ursus americanus
Wolf	Canis sp.
White-tailed Deer L	Odocoileus virginianus
Rocky Mountain Goat	Oreamnos americanus
Big Brown Bat	Eptesicus fuscus
Little Brown Bat	Myotis lucifugus
Domestic Horse	Equus	A bat at Fort Mott (Mosq. Res. & Con Unit)
Bovine	Bos taurus
Domesticated Llama	Lama glama
Domestic Rabbit	Oryctolagus cuniculus (?)
Domestic Cat	Felis domesticus
Domestic Dog	Canis lupus familiaris
Squirrel	Sciurus sp

States/Provinces where positive animals (mosquitoes, birds, and/or mammals) have been found:

(See the map at CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm)

Primary Sources include:

• ProMed Ahead (http://www.promedemail.org/) 

• USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service WN Stats

• USGS West Nile and  North American Bird Species Positive for WNV 

• CDC: Migratory Birds and Spread of West Nile Virus in the Western Hemisphere http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no4/rappole.htm  John H. Rappole,* Scott R. Derrickson,* and Zdenek Hubálek† *Cons. and Research Center, Nat'l Zoo. Park, Smithsonian Inst., Front Royal, VA, USA; and †Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, Valtice, Czech Republic

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