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State asks residents to report sick, dead birds to help monitor West Nile virus

Meredith Newman
The News Journal
The period of biggest concern for West Nile transmission by mosquitoes is late summer to early fall.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is asking residents to report sick or dead wild birds in order to help state officials monitor the West Nile virus in Delaware. 

The virus is a mosquito-borne disease that can be a great concern to people's health. To monitor the possible spread in Delaware, officials are collecting and testing a sample of wild birds until late September, Dr. William Meredith, Mosquito Control Section administrator, said in a release. 

No Delawareans were infected with the virus in last year, officials said. However, 2,038 people in the country had the virus in 2016 which led to 94 deaths.

In the region last year, there were 16 cases and two deaths in Pennsylvania, 11 cases and one death in New Jersey, eight cases in Virginia, six cases in Maryland and one case in the District of Columbia, officials said.  

West Nile first appeared in Delaware in 2001, and two years later, the state had a peak year of 17 reported human cases, two deaths, and 60 infected horses. 

The period of biggest concern for West Nile transmission is late summer and early fall, Meredith said. Chikungunya and Zika viruses, also mosquito-borne diseases, are of concern for the state but don't involve wild birds as hosts for the viruses. 

More:West Nile virus found at Dover Air Force Base prompts quick response

Similar to previous years, the state wants people to report sick crows, blue jays, cardinals, robins, hawks or owls. People should also report clusters of five or more sick or dead birds of any species. The birds should be dead for less than 24 hours and not appear to have died from other obvious causes, officials said. 

Sick or dead birds aren't likely to transmit West Nile virus to humans or to pets that come in contact with them.

The collected birds will be processed by the Delaware Department of Agriculture’s Poultry & Animal Health Lab and then submitted to the Division of Public Health Laboratory for virus testing.

The Mosquito Control Section also monitors the West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne viral diseases with 20 sentinel chicken stations from July to late October. The DPH lab then tests these chickens for viruses and indicates whether West Nile has by transmitted by mosquito from wild birds to other animals.

Seven chickens, in New Castle County north of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, tested positive for the virus in August last year. In October, a mosquito tested positive for West Nile at the Dover Air Force Base. 

People can report sick or dead birds to the Mosquito Control Section between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the week. Residents in New Castle County and Kent Country (from Dover north) should call the Glasgow office at (302) 836-2555. The remainder of Kent County and Sussex County should call the Milford office at (302) 422-1512.

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.