Abstract

ELISA techniques were used to detect antibodies to flaviviruses and West Nile virus (WNV) in wild mammals. Two different monoclonal antibodies (6B6C-1 and 3.1112G) were used. More than 500 serum samples from over twenty mammal species captured in five states (CO, LA, NY, OH, PA) were screened for flaviviruses, and those which were flavivirus positive were screened for WNV. Antibodies to flaviviruses were detected in multiple species. This number was significantly reduced for WNV as was the overall prevalence of antibodies, indicating that multiple flaviviruses may have been present at some study sites. High prevalence rates were noted for select species in both assays. Future work will employ plaque reduction neutralization tests to detect neutralizing antibodies to WNV and other flaviviruses.