A researcher is investigating which time of year birds are exposed to the West Nile Virus (WNV), so she places a cage full of lab-reared (and therefore unexposed) birds near a marsh full of mosquitoes suspected of carrying WNV.Her lab technician tests the birds' blood for anti-WNV antibodies three times per year.Eventually they find a large amount of IgG but almost no IgM.Which is the best conclusion the researcher can reach from these data?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

IgM is typically the first type of antibody produced in response to an infection, before the body switches to producing IgG. The presence of IgG but almost no IgM suggests that the initial IgM response was missed, indicating that sampling was not frequent enough to capture this early response phase.

A Researcher Is Investigating Which Time of Year Birds Are