Detection of West Nile virus in stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) parasitizing juvenile American white pelicans.

Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), an economically important pest of livestock and humans, were observed parasitizing prefledged American white pelicans, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos (Pelecaniformes: Pelecanidae), in a pelican breeding colony in northeastern Montana where die-offs attributed to West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) have occurred since 2002. Engorged and unengorged flies were collected off nine moribund chicks.

Surveillance for West Nile virus in American white pelicans, Montana, USA, 2006-2007.

West Nile virus (WNV)-associated deaths of American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) chicks have been recognized at various nesting colonies in the United States since 2002. We evaluated American white pelican nesting colonies in Sheridan County, Montana, USA, for an association between WNV-positive pelican carcasses and human West Nile neuroinvasive disease. Persons in counties hosting affected colonies had a 5x higher risk for disease than those in counties with unaffected colonies.

Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins that target nematodes.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal proteins are pore-forming toxins used as insecticides around the world. Previously, the extent to which these proteins might also target the invertebrate phylum Nematoda has been mostly ignored. We have expressed seven different crystal toxin proteins from two largely unstudied Bt crystal protein subfamilies.