Urban land use predicts West Nile virus exposure in songbirds.

Urbanization is a widespread phenomenon that is likely to influence the prevalence and impact of wildlife pathogens, with implications for wildlife management and public health policies toward zoonotic pathogens. In this study, wild songbird populations were sampled at 14 sites along an urban rural gradient in the greater metropolitan Atlanta (Georgia, USA) area and tested for antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV). The level of urbanization among sites was quantitatively assessed using a principal component analysis of key land use characteristics.

Urbanization and the ecology of wildlife diseases.

Urbanization is intensifying worldwide, with two-thirds of the human population expected to reside in cities within 30 years. The role of cities in human infectious disease is well established, but less is known about how urban landscapes influence wildlife-pathogen interactions. Here, we draw on recent advances in wildlife epidemiology to consider how environmental changes linked with urbanization can alter the biology of hosts, pathogens and vectors.