Susceptibility of Garter Snakes (Thamnophis Spp.) to Western Equine Encephalomyelitis Virus

Abstract

Garter snakes are susceptible to infection with WEE virus. This is the first evidence, to the best of our knowledge, that a virus which is an important parasite of avian and mammalian hosts can infect a cold-blooded vertebrate and cause viremia of high titer and long duration. The possibility that snakes may play a role in overwintering of the virus is being investigated.