First bird infected with West Nile virus found on the coastside

A jay found dead in Butano Canyon, near Pescadero, [map] on September 29 has been confirmed by the state to be infected with West Nile virus.

"This is the first infected bird found on the coast," says Chindi Peavey, vector ecologist with the San Mateo County Mosquito Abatement District. "But we’ve been assuming that the virus has already spread throughout the coast." Fourteen infected birds have been discovered in San Mateo County since the first was diagnosed on August 10, 2004.

I’ve been relatively sanguine about the virus until yesterday, when I read a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal that says West Nile is more harmful and affects a lot more people than we first thought [subscription required]:

Working its way inexorably across the country the past five years, West Nile has upended early assumptions that it was a mild disease that generally only posed a serious threat to the frail elderly.

U.S. scientists and public-health officials are now concluding that West Nile is a far more nimble and virulent foe than they had first thought. Since arriving in New York in 1999, an aggressive mutant form has hopscotched a step ahead of scientists and has exploited shortcomings in the public-health system. Along its way, West Nile has assailed a surprising number of healthy adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s, causing complications such as meningitis, encephalitis and paralysis, which can leave victims physically disabled, brain-damaged or dead.

 

If you find dead crows, ravens, or jays, you should call the California West Nile Hotline at 1.877.968.2473.

If you are being bitten by mosquitoes, call the county Mosquito Abatement District at 1.650.344.8592. Peavey says that although the District has generally identified sources of mosquitoes on the coastside, even a few bites might lead them to a previous unknown source. On September 20, the District sprayed larvacide by helicopter on the pond in the center of Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica.

More information can be found on the CDC’s West Nile Virus page.