This is a collaborative project with the Maine Medical Center Research Institute Vector-borne Disease Laboratory with funding from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. Below is a summary of the project and a list of collaborators.
In 2013 at five southern Maine sites, blood samples were taken from mist-netted passerines and screened for Eastern
Equine Encephalitis(EEV). Neutralizing antibodies by plaque-reduction neutralization assay were conducted at the Centers for Disease Control. Relative to seroprevalence reported from other studies in other states, Maine passerines demonstrated high seroprevalance (32%) in all birds and very high seroprevalence in hatch year birds (44%). This and other surveillance evidence indicated 2013 was an epiornitic year in Maine for EEEv.
You can check out our publication from this work in the journal Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Link
EEV cycle image from naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com
Lead: Susan Elias, MMCRI VBDL
Collaborators:
Dr. Robert Smith, Susan Elias, Charles Lubelczyk, MMC Research Institute Vector-borne Disease Lab Scarborough, ME
Patrick Keenan, Biodiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME
Dr. John‐Paul Mutebi, Kali Saxton-Shaw, Joan Kenney, Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO
Dr. Sara Morris and Kristen Covino, Appledore Island Migration Station, Appledore Island, ME
Paul Dest, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, ME