美国西尼罗河病毒感染在2024年夏季早期创下自2004年以来的新高。1美国疾病控制中心在7月发出警告，指出病毒传播已在夏季早期阶段展开。1为了更好地追踪疫情动态，特拉华州等地已采用哨兵鸡监测计划来提前预警病毒活动。1
特拉华州在全州20个地点各饲养4只哨兵鸡进行监测，该项目始于20世纪80年代初。1哨兵鸡被用作"死端宿主"，可以检测出蚊媒病毒的感染情况，但无法将疾病传播给他人。1被蚊虫叮咬后，鸡需要约一周时间才能产生抗体。1特拉华州采用罗德岛红鸡品种替代原有的白来航鸡，因为后者容易逃脱。1通过对这些鸡进行定期检测，官员们可以获得精准的地理位置信息，以指导蚊虫控制工作和公共防护措施的制定。1
佛罗里达大学的研究人员将数十年的哨兵鸡纸质监测数据进行数字化，建立了预测模型，用以分析天气、降水、鸟类迁徙等环境因素与病毒传播之间的关系。1这些模型旨在帮助预测未来疫情的严重程度。1
West Nile virus infections across the United States reached their highest levels since 2004 during early summer 2024, prompting public health authorities to intensify surveillance efforts.1 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned in July that virus transmission had begun earlier than typical, with case numbers exceeding those seen in the past two decades.1
To gain an early advantage in detecting and controlling the spread, Delaware and other states have turned to an unconventional monitoring tool: sentinel chickens.1 Delaware maintains four sentinel chickens at each of 20 locations statewide, part of a surveillance program that began in the early 1980s.1 These birds serve as "dead-end hosts," meaning they can contract mosquito-borne viruses and show infection when tested, but cannot transmit the disease to humans.1 After a mosquito bite, the chickens require approximately one week to develop detectable antibodies.1 The state has switched to Rhode Island Red chicken breeds, replacing the White Leghorn variety that proved prone to escape.1
Researchers have leveraged decades of sentinel chicken data to build predictive models of virus activity. Epidemiologists at the University of Florida digitized extensive paper records spanning multiple years and analyzed correlations between environmental factors—including weather patterns, precipitation levels, and bird migration cycles—and virus transmission dynamics.1 These models aim to forecast the severity of future outbreaks and provide officials with precise geographic data to guide mosquito control operations and public health interventions.1
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