[chapter-communicator] Frank Gill in Wash Post on West Nile
- From: "BIANCHI, John" <JBIANCHI@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To:
- Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2002 16:10:36 -0400
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> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15179-2002Sep13.html
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> washingtonpost.com
> Hundreds of Birds Killed by West Nile
> Midwest Hardest Hit as Virus Spreads
> By Kari Lydersen
> Special to The Washington Post
> Saturday, September 14, 2002; Page A03
> CHICAGO -- Owls with glazed eyes, truckloads of dead crows, eagles
> struggling for their lives while being intravenously fed in bird
> sanctuaries.
> Those scenes are being repeated throughout the Midwest as the West
> Nile virus has struck with a vengeance, killing hundreds of birds. As the
> human toll -- now at 46 -- mounts, scientists are also concerned that
> dozens of bird species are facing long-term or even permanent effects from
> the virus.
> "This is a bird disease, not a human disease," said John Bianchi of
> the National Audubon Society.
> The virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, surfaced on a significant
> scale only about six weeks ago, and already the effect on bird populations
> has been devastating: At least 111 species have been identified as
> affected, and that number is expected to rise.
> Scientists are still scrambling to understand the disease and its
> spread, so the true number of infected birds and what can be expected in
> the coming weeks remains uncertain. Ward Stone, head of wildlife pathology
> for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and one of the
> scientists who first identified the disease when it surfaced in New York
> City in 1999, said he isn't surprised by the outbreak.
> "I predicted it would be about four years," he said, noting that the
> disease never really went away after the 1999 outbreak but has been slowly
> spreading and incubating every summer. "This is so much bigger and more
> serious than 1999."
> New York has the second-highest number of cases, and the disease has
> also been found in New Jersey and Maryland this summer.
> But West Nile has hit the Midwest hardest. Ohio leads the country in
> reported incidences, and high numbers of cases have been reported in
> Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Nebraska. A recent Audubon census in an
> area outside Chicago that was known to have a population of about 100
> crows found only three.
> "What we found was very dramatic," said Judy Pollock, bird
> conservation projects manager with the Audubon of the Chicago region. "We
> have no idea why it hit the Midwest so hard."
> Bianchi noted that the recipe was there for a West Nile outbreak.
> This year featured a dry spring and early summer, an inhospitable climate
> for mosquitoes that meant their natural predators -- birds -- were also
> fewer.
> Then rains in late summer led to a flourishing of mosquito
> populations, and the birds weren't there to eat them.
> Birds typically live only a few days after contracting West Nile.
> The virus causes encephalitis, meaning their brain becomes inflamed and
> they suffer heart lesions and enlargement of the other vital organs.
> So far no species has been found to be immune to the virus, though
> some birds seem to suffer more acutely than others.
> Common crows and blue jays appear to be the first and most frequent
> victims, though bird experts note that this might only be because they are
> highly visible and numerous. The whole Corvidae family -- which includes
> jays, crows, ravens and magpies -- is highly susceptible.
> Bird lovers are especially worried by the fact that raptors,
> including owls, eagles and hawks, are being devastated by the disease.
> Paul Tebbel, president of Raptor Recovery Nebraska, has been overwhelmed
> with sick hawks, owls and even two eagles in the past six weeks.
> "We usually get only a few a week, and now we're getting three to
> six a day," Tebbel said. "We were completely baffled and caught unaware."
> Tebbel noted that about half the birds his group has seen, including
> the two eagles, are able to survive with care that includes hand or
> intravenous feeding. But he is afraid almost any sick bird in the wild
> will die.
> The bulk of public concern is focused on the risk of West Nile to
> people, but Tebbel said the potential harm to the ecological balance could
> have lasting ramifications as more birds die.
> "Taking care of raptors is not a high priority for the state," he
> said. "But raptors are one of our most important predators. They eat
> rabbits, mice, rats. In an agricultural area like this, they are a very
> important part of the ecosystem."
> National Audubon Society scientist Frank Gill noted that few bird
> epidemics of this type have occurred in our country, and that there is
> little precedent for studying them. A devastating epidemic of avian pox in
> Hawaii was also caused by mosquitoes, brought to the island on ships.
> "As a rule, birds can bounce back quickly," said Gill. "But there
> are some instances where they don't, like in Hawaii."
> While a vaccine has been developed for horses, who are also affected
> by the disease, scientists have little idea how to curb the disease in
> birds. A vaccine could be used to treat rare or caged birds, but, as Stone
> said, "it would be impossible to vaccinate the millions of birds in the
> world."
> The only real relief may come from the onset of winter, when frosts
> kill most mosquitoes, at least in the colder regions, and slow the spread
> of West Nile.
> Meanwhile, concern about the disease's effect on people is
> contributing to even more bird deaths. Terror at the possibility of
> contracting West Nile has led people to dump pesticide in rivers, to
> demand mass chemical spraying and even to poison bird feeders, according
> to Bianchi.
> Rather than mass pesticide use, the Audubon Society is urging
> "integrated pest control," including the elimination of any standing water
> that can serve as a mosquito breeding ground, and the use of bacterial
> larvicides, which kill mosquitoes, midges and some other insects but leave
> most bugs unharmed.
> "If you kill all the insects birds eat, it will be just as bad as
> them getting West Nile," Pollock said.
> When it comes down to it, most scientists predict that nature will
> ultimately take its course, as it has for centuries. The birds that
> survive the epidemic will pass on their West Nile-resistant traits to
> future generations and, over time, breeds will become resilient in the
> face of the disease.
> "Something like this will run its course in three or four years,"
> predicted Gill. "Those birds not sensitive to it will prevail. It will be
> an example of natural selection in action."
>
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