People asked to report sick or dead wild birds in Delaware
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Fish and Wildlife Mosquito Control Section is asking the public for their help in monitoring West Nile virus in Delaware by reporting discovery of sick or dead wild birds that may have the virus.
Officials say that West Nile Virus is a mosquito borne disease of considerable concern to human health and to owners of unvaccinated horses. Dr. William Meredith, Mosquito Control Section Administrator says, "We are interested in when and where West Nile virus might again appear in Delaware this year, and in monitoring the timing and locations of its possible spread throughout the state. Our sampling strategy this year is to collect and test a sample of wild birds found throughout the state into late September."
As in past years, officials say that the Mosquito Control Section asks that the public report sick or dead birds of the following species only: crows, blue jays, cardinals, robins, hawks or owls, along with clusters of five or more sick or dead wild birds of any species.
Officials say that bird specimens should have been dead for less than a day and not seem to have died by other obvious cases. The Mosquito Control Section also reportedly notes that uncollected wild bird specimens are very unlikely to spread West Nile Virus to humans, or to pets that come near a sick or dead bird.
Birds collected by D.N.R.E.C are reportedly processed by the Delaware Department of Agriculture's Poultry and Animal Health Lab and then taken to the Division of Public Health Laboratory for virus testing. From July through mid to late October, D.N.R.E.C'S Mosquito Control Section also reportedly has a statewide network of about 20 sentinel chicken stations placed in prime mosquito areas, which "keep watch" for W.N.V and eastern equine encephalitis (E.E.E.) another mosquito borne viral disease that is reported to impact horses and humans.
Officials say that the D.P.H lab tests blood samples from the sentinel chickens for both viruses to help find out where W.N.V or E.E.E has been spread by mosquitoes from wild bird hosts to other animals, potentially causing more risk of exposure for humans or horses.
Dr. Meredith says, "The prevalence of prime mosquito production habitats in Delaware, combined with our high human population density, presents quite a challenge, but our approach to controlling mosquitoes has been effective in reducing the frequency of West Nile virus transmission and helping to prevent large outbreaks."
The period of greatest concern for disease transmission is reportedly in late summer and early fall. Dr. Meredith noted that two other mosquito borne diseases of concern late in South and Central America and the Caribbean, and now in the southern United States and potentially Delaware, are the chikungunya and Zika viruses, but none of the two diseases involves wild birds as host reservoirs for the viruses, but rather they are diseases spread by mosquitoes from person to person with no avian connection.
W.N.V. is reportedly spread to humans primarily by the common house mosquito and potentially Asian tiger mosquitoes. The disease first showed up in Delaware over 16 years ago with a peak year in 2003, which reportedly saw 17 human cases and two deaths along with 60 W.N.V. stricken horses.
Delaware reportedly had no human cases of West Nile Virus last year, a year for which the Centers for Disease Control's (C.D.C) nationwide figures were 2,038 reported human cases of W.N.V. resulting in 94 deaths.
Regionally last year, 19 W.N.V human cases were reported in New York with one fatality, 16 cases in Pennsylvania with two deaths, 11 cases in New Jersey and one death, and eight cases in Virginia, six in Maryland, and one in the District of Columbia, with no deaths reported from the last three.
Sick or dead birds can be reported to the Mosquito Control Section between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling Mosquito Control's Field offices:
• New Castle County and Kent County from Dover north, Glasgow office: 302-836-2555
• Remainder of Kent County and Sussex County, Milford office: 302-422-1512.
Callers to Mosquito Control's field officers after business hours or on weekends or holidays can leave voicemails.
The phone numbers above could also be used to report intolerable numbers of biting mosquitoes to help the Mosquito Control Section find out when and where to provide control services. For more information on Delaware's Mosquito Control program, call the main office at 302-739-9917 or click here.
For more information about West Nile Virus in humans, people can call the Delaware Division of Public Health at 302-744-1033 or 888-295-5156. For more information about W.N.V. in horses, eastern equine encephalitis or vaccines, people can contact the State Veterinarian at the Delaware Department of Agriculture at 800-282-8685 (Delaware only) or 302-698-4500.
