JWD Subscribe to eTOC alerts
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 37(1), 2001, pp. 72-81
© Wildlife Disease Association  2001
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hartup, B.
Right arrow Articles by Kollias, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hartup, B.
Right arrow Articles by Kollias, G.

Host range and dynamics of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis among birds in North America

BK Hartup, AA Dhondt, KV Sydenstricker, WM Hochachka, and GV Kollias


ABSTRACT

An epidemic of conjunctivitis among house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) bacterial infections was first described in 1994. The disease exhibits high primary host specificity, but has been isolated from a limited number of secondary avian hosts at various times and locations. We used records from the House Finch Disease Survey, a continent-wide, volunteer monitoring project, to document the host range of conjunctivitis in birds at feeding stations and to investigate how disease in house finches might influence the spread of conjunctivitis to other hosts. Between 1994 and 1998, participants recorded 675 cases of conjunctivitis in 31 species other than house finches in eastern North America. Seventy five % of these cases were observed among three species: American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis), purple finches (Carpodacus purpureus) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus). The proportion of sites with diseased wintering populations of the three species increased over the 4 yr study and coincided with range expansion of conjunctivitis in house finches. Sites with diseased house finches present were significantly more likely to report conjunctivitis in each of the three species during the same month. These observations are most consistent with transmission of an infectious agent (presumably MG) from house finches to these secondary hosts via spillover of localized epidemics, rather than sustained interspecific transmission.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Wildl DisHome page
J. J. Cherry, D. H. Ley, and S. Altizer
Genotypic Analyses of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Isolates from Songbirds by Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA and Amplified-fragment Length Polymorphism.
J. Wildl. Dis., April 1, 2006; 42(2): 421 - 428.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Wildl DisHome page
K. L. Farmer, G. E. Hill, and S. R. Roberts
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF WILD SONGBIRDS TO THE HOUSE FINCH STRAIN OF MYCOPLASMA GALLISEPTICUM
J. Wildl. Dis., April 1, 2005; 41(2): 317 - 325.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Wildl DisHome page
Z. Hubalek
AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH MIGRATORY BIRDS
J. Wildl. Dis., October 1, 2004; 40(4): 639 - 659.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
K. J. Navara and G. E. Hill
Dietary carotenoid pigments and immune function in a songbird with extensive carotenoid-based plumage coloration
Behav. Ecol., November 1, 2003; 14(6): 909 - 916.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the Wildlife Disease Association.