West Nile Virus in California!

Associated Press ^ | 9-6-02 | Andrew Bridges

[bonesmccoy]

Calif. Woman Positive for West Nile Fri Sep 6, 7:09 PM ET By ANDREW BRIDGES, AP Science Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California woman has tested positive for the West Nile virus ( news - web sites) in what could be the first human case contracted in the western United States, health officials said Friday in announcing preliminary test results.

AP Photo

Conclusive results won't be known for another week. However, Los Angeles County health officials were calling it a "probable case of locally acquired West Nile virus infection." The case suggests that the virus may have completed its journey across the continent.

The woman, who was not identified, became sick in August from meningitis, which is associated with the virus. She has recovered.

She had not traveled outside the region, meaning the possible infection occurred locally, said Maria Iacobo, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Health Services.

The diagnosis surprised health officials because ongoing monitoring of birds and mosquitoes had shown no trace of the virus in California.

"The virus' arrival in California is anticipated, but unexpected at this time since it is not present in any contiguous states," said Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, director and chief medical officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

The mosquito-borne virus appeared in the United States in 1999 in New York. So far though, no local cases have been confirmed west of the Rocky Mountains. Four confirmed cases in Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho contracted the virus in states where the virus was already present.

Nationwide this year, there have been 854 confirmed human cases of the virus, including 43 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( news - web sites).

Human cases have been confirmed this year in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

West Nile is spread by infected mosquitos, which pass the virus to birds, horses or humans. Most people develop a mild flu-like illness, though the elderly and people with weak immune systems can get a potentially fatal brain inflammation.

The CDC confirmed this week that four people became sick from organ transplants. Health officials are investigating whether the organ donor and another woman contracted West Nile virus through blood donations.

___

[bonesmccoy]

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/

Reporting Dead Birds

Dead birds in an area may mean that West Nile virus is circulating between the birds and the mosquitoes in that area. Over 110 species of birds are known to have been infected with West Nile virus. Although birds, particularly crows and jays, infected with WN virus can die or become ill, most infected birds do survive.

The public can play an important role in monitoring West Nile virus through reporting dead birds to state and local health departments. However, in some areas, birds are no longer being collected. Inaddition, state and local agencies have different policies for collecting and testing birds. See the Links to State and Local Government Sites page to find information about reporting dead birds in your area.

PLEASE NOTE: Because CDC is a federal agency, we do not deal directly with the reporting of dead birds. State and local health departments are responsible for initiating these investigations. They report their findings to CDC.

[EggsAckley]

I keep waiting to hear just what insecticide they have found to kill the offending mosquitos. Lots of locales this summer seem to NOT be doing abatement.

[bonesmccoy]

Recent experience reported by CDC

Analysis of avian morbidity and mortality data in 2000 indicated:

American crow was the most sensitive species for avian morbidity/mortality surveillance. However, some areas, particularly those distant from NYC, did not have positive American crows, but only positive birds of other species.

Almost all of the positive birds were found singly and not as part of a mass die-off in a single time and place.

Approx. a third of positive birds had signs of trauma on necropsy.

Many positive birds did not have pathology indicative of West Nile infection on necropsy. No lesions are pathognomonic for WN virus infection.

Positive dead birds usually provided the earliest indication of viral activity in an area.

Detection of positive dead birds always preceeded reporting of human cases.

Counties with human cases tended to have high dead bird surveillance indices, both West Nile positive and sightings.

[Carry_Okie]

Environmental fraud goes back a very long way. The sad fact is that the use of DDT increased bird populations across the board. Here are Audubon Society bird counts for the period between 1941 and 1961:

Audubon Society
Christmas Bird Count Data
1941 (2,331 Observers)
vs. 1960 (8,928 Observers)
Species	Count			Count/Observer		Ratio/Observer
	1941	1960		1941	1960		1960/1941
Eagle	197	891		0.08	0.10		1.18
Gull	124,470	635,642		53.40	71.20		1.33
Raven	667	2,669		0.29	0.30		1.04
Crow	185,519	250,307		79.59	28.04		0.35
Quail	2,060	10,276		0.88	1.15		1.30
Pheasant	6,839	19,731		2.93	2.21		0.75
Mounring Dove	7,411	72,958		3.18	8.17		2.57
Swallow	14,347	242,303		6.15	27.14		4.41
Grebe	2,501	27,826		1.07	3.12		2.90
Pelican	4,450	10,562		1.91	1.18		0.62
Cormorant	3,246	27,162		1.39	3.04		2.18
Heron	2,254	16,253		0.97	1.82		1.88
Egret	1,469	16,800		0.63	1.88		2.99
Swan	18,554	33,994		7.96	3.81		0.48
Goose	182,820	696,777		78.43	78.04		1.00
Ducks	2,137,093	2,739,517		916.81	306.85		0.33
Balckbird	137,502	20,552,375		58.99	2,302.01		39.02
Grackle	24,937	12,570,458		10.70	1,407.98		131.61
Cowbird	40,019	3,286,314		17.17	368.09		21.44
Chickadee	21,330	55,906		9.15	6.26		0.68
Titmouse	5,038	18,268		2.16	2.05		0.95
Nuthatch	4,214	13,439		1.81	1.51		0.83
Robin	19,616	928,639		8.42	104.01		12.36
English Sparrow	53,335	358,769		22.88	40.18		1.76
Bluebird	3,742	6,903		1.61	0.77		0.48
Starling	211,836	8,673,095		90.88	971.45		10.69
Sources:	42nd Christmas Bird Count			Audubon Magazine, 1942
	61st Christmas Bird Count			Audubon Field Notes, 15, 1961

Thanks to Dr. J. Gordon Edwards, Professor Emeritus of Entomology
at San Jose State University, for providing this information.

[bonesmccoy]

The point of my posting this thread is to point out the need for Freepers to contact local public health departments when they see any dead birds.

[Fitzcarraldo]

I hope this stays on breaking news for awhile.
I posted it there yesterday and it was taken off within
an hour. I don't understand their criteria. A big question in this case was when it would reach the west coast.

[backhoe]

Whatever they use here in south Georgia for foggers seems only to enrage the bugs- they spray constantly and might as well not bother. There is an answer, of course:

West Nile Virus- Bring Back DDT?

BTW, I ran across this odd data:

The Iraqi connection
Telegragh:Iraq's chemists bought anthrax from America

Link

Link

Link

West Nile virus confirmed in Chicago burbs

Salman Pak: In 1985, the CDC sent three shipments of West Nile Fever virus to Iraq for use in medical research. Valerie Kuklenski, "Western Firms Supplied Iraq with Chemical Weapons," UPI, October 2, 1990.

[bonesmccoy]

How can anyone in the media question the Administration's position on Saddam when there is such substantial circumstantial evidence to link Iraq's regime with both the anthrax attacks and the sudden appearance of West Nile encephalitis in NYC three years ago?

[snopercod]

Boy, those Balckbirds really liked DDT!

Seriously, thanks for posting that again.

[Carry_Okie]

Oh, and mosquito abatement isn't part of the response?

[Naspino]

Please, all Kalifornians, do not spray pesticide or any other chemical to ward off mosquitos -- it will endager the holy environment. Please accept your death by mosquito the way you, as an animal intruder, are supposed to.

[backhoe]

How can anyone in the media question the Administration's position on Saddam when there is such substantial circumstantial evidence

That's a good question... those links were the tail end of a small collection of links I have tying this stuff together- and being a few days old, they are already outdated. There are just too many stories and names that dovetail together for there not to be some kind of connection.

[Carry_Okie]

It's the most damning single piece of evidence I have seen on the topic.

[Lion's Cub]

She had not traveled outside the region, meaning the possible infection occurred locally, said Maria Iacobo, a spokeswoman for the county Department of Health Services.

The diagnosis surprised health officials because ongoing monitoring of birds and mosquitoes had shown no trace of the virus in California.

"The virus' arrival in California is anticipated, but unexpected at this time since it is not present in any contiguous states," said Dr. Thomas Garthwaite

This makes me wonder if she contracted the problem through some means other than a mosquito bite. (I'm thinking of the reports of it being contracted through organ transplants and blood transfusions.)

I'm also wondering if She had not traveled outside the region means this past summer only, or if it means never. If it's showing up in organs and blood, then it seems to me that people can carry the virus without ever showing any symptoms of disease. Then if something weakens the immune system sufficiently, they could develop symptoms at that time.

If that's true, it's likely to freak people out when the news breaks.

[JennysCool]

Spock sez ... "That's all well and good, McCoy...what are you going to do about it?"

[bonesmccoy]

nah... the likelihood is that she was hot, wearing august summer clothes and got a bite.

[bonesmccoy]

Tell others that if they see dead birds, report it to public health and then let the county run the post-mortem on the birds.

[bonesmccoy]

which is also OFF TOPIC for this thread. Please stay germane to the subject of West Nile Virus. Thanks

[Carry_Okie]

which is also OFF TOPIC for this thread. Please stay germane to the subject of West Nile Virus. Thanks

Let's see, West Nile Virus is spread among birds and to people by mosquitos, and perhaps among birds by mites or lice (no data there?).

Any effort to control human infection, other than by vaccination (your bailiwick), would concentrate upon control of disease carriers in addition to "monitoring." You clearly thought reporting dead birds was on topic. You apparently don't consider mosquito abatement on topic. Both are carriers. Effective public health policy would seek the most effective means to control disease transmission by carriers. You don't want that discussed and didn't make that clear at the top of the thread.

That's pretty narrow control freaking for FreeRepublic, sir, and probably not even decent public health policy, doctor.

No thank you. Threads on FreeRepublic are not private property. Lucky for you I have a lot to do today.

[bonesmccoy]

What????

I've never said that mosquito abatement was off-topic. My point is that dead birds need to be identified by Freepers and then reported to public health so that viral analysis can be conducted by local labs. All of your other arguments are unfounded. Mosquito abatement is relevant, so start another thread and post your opinions on DDT there.

This thread is about how to help government identify where the West Nile Virus is. This thread was not started to provide you a podium to pontificate on DDT.