Six birds tested, all negative - No sign of West Nile Virus in this region

Ken Johnston
Editor

While there has been no positive tests that the West Nile Virus is in the region there have been at least six birds tested for it since it was confirmed to be in Ontario last August 21, 2001.
Bill Limerick, the Environmental Health and Municipal Affairs Manager for the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU), said that all six cases showed negative results on the six birds.
On Monday a dead bird was reported to NWHU as being found in Rainy River. However the dead bird reported Monday was on the ground to long to test.
Limerick said that officials from his office will either pick up the birds or instruct the the discoverer how to pick it up, but he does recommend that they call NWHU at 852-3268 before attempting to move the carcass.
Limerick also said that they are not looking for road-kill or birds that look like they have been mangled by an animal such as a cat.
The most common birds to be affected by the West Nile Virus are crows, magpies, gray jays, blue jays and ravens.
The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). It was named after the West Nile region of Uganda where it first appeared in 1937. One estimate puts the amount of people living on Nile River delta that have been infected with the virus at about 60% by adulthood with no ill effects.
The virus is spread to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. They become infected by biting an infected bird. According the Ontario Ministry of Health the virus can not be spread from person to person and while there have been no documented cases of people getting it from dead birds people are urged to use caution. The virus has been found in the feathers and beaks of birds. For that reason Limerick urges the public to call the NWHU if a bird has been found.
Last Thursday it was reported that a horse had died from the West Nile Virus in North Dakota. On Friday test results from a dead crow found on July 7, 2002 in Winnipeg, Manitoba were made public as being positive and city wide fogging against mosquitoes began almost immediately in both places.
In most cases the areas where infected mosquitoes are found have very few mosquitoes carrying the virus. Health officials say there is usually less than one percent of mosquitoes infected in an area that has tested positive and the chances of one becoming severely ill are less than one percent. That is a one percent of one percent chance that one will get severely ill. In fact the more common effects if any at all with humans are for the victims to get mild headaches or flu-like symptoms.
Limerick urged people not to be frightened, “Don’t panic. Instead do preventative stuff for mosquitoes.”
All ten of the confirmed positive results in Ontario birds occurred in eastern and southern Ontario.