[tn-bird] West Nile Virus in Wild Birds

The Shelby County Health Department in Memphis, TN just
issued a warning alert for the West Nile Virus in wild birds.
They want you to call the Shelby County Health Department
Vector Control at 901-324-5547 if you find any dead wild birds.

The West Nile Virus was first detected in the US in September
1999 during an outbreak of encephalitis in humans in New York City.
The infection is transmitted by mosquitoes. The virus manifests
itself as encephalitis, which damages the brain stem of the
victim.

To track the spread of the virus, they want anyone who finds
a dead wild bird to let them test it for the virus. The alert
on television only mentioned "Crows and Bluejays".

So, it spooked me when I went to my mailbox today and found a
dead female English Sparrow in the open mailbox. I bagged it for
delivery to the Health Department tomorrow. I then disinfected
my mailbox with Clorox, just in case.

Note: This is the third dead Passer Domesticus found in my yard
in less than two weeks. Two previous female English Sparrows
had been decapitated when I found them, but I wonder if they
had not been infected by the West Nile Virus before I found
them.

Robert Fowler
Memphis, TN


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