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First Isolation of West Nile Virus in the Caribbean
<nobr>Roberto Barrera<sup>*</sup></nobr>, <nobr>Elizabeth Hunsperger</nobr>, <nobr>Jorge L. Mu?oz-Jord?n</nobr>, <nobr>Manuel Amador</nobr>, <nobr>Annette Diaz</nobr>, <nobr>Joshua Smith</nobr>, <nobr>Kovi Bessoff</nobr>, <nobr>Manuela Beltran</nobr>, <nobr>Edgardo Vergne</nobr>, <nobr>Mark Verduin</nobr>, <nobr>Amy Lambert</nobr>, AND <nobr>Wellington Sun</nobr>
Dengue Branch, DVBID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,<sup> </sup>1324 Calle Ca?ada, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920<sup> </sup>
<center>ABSTRACT</center> A sentinel chicken program for West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance<sup> </sup>was initiated in July 2006 in eastern Puerto Rico, yielding<sup> </sup>the first seroconversions on June 4, 2007. WNV was isolated<sup> </sup>from sentinel chicken serum and mosquito pools (Culex nigripalpus,<sup> </sup>Culex bahamensis) for the first time in Tropical America. Preliminary<sup> </sup>sequence analysis of the prM and E genes revealed a 1-amino<sup> </sup>acid difference (V159A) between the Puerto Rican 2007 and the<sup> </sup>NY99. This mutation has been observed in the current dominant<sup> </sup>clade circulating in the United States. Sentinel chicken surveillance<sup> </sup>was a useful tool for the detection of West Nile virus in the<sup> </sup>tropics.
<nobr>Roberto Barrera<sup>*</sup></nobr>, <nobr>Elizabeth Hunsperger</nobr>, <nobr>Jorge L. Mu?oz-Jord?n</nobr>, <nobr>Manuel Amador</nobr>, <nobr>Annette Diaz</nobr>, <nobr>Joshua Smith</nobr>, <nobr>Kovi Bessoff</nobr>, <nobr>Manuela Beltran</nobr>, <nobr>Edgardo Vergne</nobr>, <nobr>Mark Verduin</nobr>, <nobr>Amy Lambert</nobr>, AND <nobr>Wellington Sun</nobr>
Dengue Branch, DVBID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,<sup> </sup>1324 Calle Ca?ada, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920<sup> </sup>
<center>ABSTRACT</center> A sentinel chicken program for West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance<sup> </sup>was initiated in July 2006 in eastern Puerto Rico, yielding<sup> </sup>the first seroconversions on June 4, 2007. WNV was isolated<sup> </sup>from sentinel chicken serum and mosquito pools (Culex nigripalpus,<sup> </sup>Culex bahamensis) for the first time in Tropical America. Preliminary<sup> </sup>sequence analysis of the prM and E genes revealed a 1-amino<sup> </sup>acid difference (V159A) between the Puerto Rican 2007 and the<sup> </sup>NY99. This mutation has been observed in the current dominant<sup> </sup>clade circulating in the United States. Sentinel chicken surveillance<sup> </sup>was a useful tool for the detection of West Nile virus in the<sup> </sup>tropics.
