Which are the most important host species for West Nile Virus?

In this work were presented the results concerning the identification of the primary reservoir host species and their relative competence to WNV transmission. Results on mosquito feeding preferences and avian census data collected during 2011 in Italy (Trentino and Veneto regions) were shown. In particular, through multinomial simulations it has been identified which host species (in particular avian species) were avoided, indifferent or preferred by mosquitoes. Preliminary results, that need to be confirmed by data on mosquito blood-meal analysis collected in 2012, indicate that Sturnus vulgaris was an avoided species for Cx. pipiens mosquitoes, Passer domesticus was an opportunistic host while Streptopelia decaocto seems to be a preferred host species for Cx. pipiens. Finally, it has been shown how these preliminary results can drive the development of specific mathematical models aiming at investigating the impact of mosquitoes feeding preferences on WNV transmission dynamics.