US scientists turn to chickens to sound the alarm as West Nile cases rise
Chickens – which can test positive for viruses but cannot spread them – an ideal early warning system for mosquito-borne disease
TL;DR
- Sentinel chickens serve as an early warning system for mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
- Chickens are considered 'dead-end hosts' as they can test positive for viruses but cannot spread them, making them ideal sentinels.
- Delaware has utilized sentinel chickens since the early 1980s, finding their data more informative than testing mosquito pools alone.
- Data collected from sentinel chickens over decades is being used to develop models that predict the severity of disease seasons.
- Research is ongoing to link environmental factors like temperature and precipitation with virus activity identified by sentinel chickens.