Whatcom County Health Department Urges Timely Dead Bird Reporting    

       


 
BELLINGHAM, June 29, 2009—The Whatcom County Health Department (WCHD) would like to remind residents to report dead birds in a timely manner. Reporting dead birds is essential to West Nile Virus (WNV) monitoring efforts. As mosquito season begins, the risk of WNV transmission increases.

Local dead bird monitoring indicates the Corvidae family of birds (crows, jays, ravens and magpies) and raptor species, are very susceptible to the virus and experience high mortality rates. Timely dead bird testing and reporting increases the probability of detecting WNV activity in Whatcom County.
 
Birds to be tested must be dead less than 24 hours with carcass intact. If the carcass has an odor, is soft and mushy, has skin discoloration, feathers or skin that easily rubs off, or has maggots present, it is too decomposed for testing. Birds which meet requirements for testing may be frozen for storage and shipping.

For Dead bird reporting, call 360-676-6724 or report online at the Washington State Dept. of Health’s website:

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/Zoo/WNV/reportdeadbird.html

Dead birds meeting testing criteria must be double-bagged and brought to the WCHD starting July 1st, to be considered for testing.

In addition to testing selected specimens, it is also necessary to record reports of dead birds that are not tested. There appears to be a significant correlation between areas with high densities of reports and areas where human cases appear one to four weeks later. Studies in several states have shown that, in urban and suburban areas, as many as 75% of human cases occurred near locations where clusters of dead corvids (primarily crows) were found.


Contact:    John Wolpers
Phone:        (360) 676-6724 x50808
E-mail address:     JWolpers@whatcomcounty.us

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