- The West Nile virus, the mosquito-borne illness that
has been marching across the United States, has officially arrived in Minnesota.
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- The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the
virus in two dead crows -- one from Golden Valley, the other found near
the town of Isle in Mille Lacs County. Officials said Wednesday that they
expect to confirm the virus in other areas of the state over the next few
weeks.
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- No people in Minnesota are known to be infected, and
the risk of getting ill is low here, said State Epidemiologist Dr. Harry
Hull. Residents of Golden Valley and the Isle area are not at higher risk,
he added.
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- "This is not something people should be panicked
about, but it is something that people should be knowledgeable about,"
he said.
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- North America's first case of West Nile was identified
in New York in 1999.
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- It has quickly spread west and south to 35 states, according
to federal and state health agencies. The virus gets its name from the
area in Uganda where it was discovered in 1937.
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- With West Nile's arrival in Iowa and Wisconsin last summer,
health officials in Minnesota expanded efforts to detect the virus.
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- It is particularly deadly to crows and horses. Birds,
horses and humans can contract the virus when bitten by a carrier mosquito.
Infected animals and people are not contagious.
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- A horse in Rogers has tested positive on an initial screening,
but more tests are needed to confirm that finding, said Dr. Keith Friendshuh,
assistant director of the Minnesota Animal Health Board. A horse in Clay
County in northwestern Minnesota also is being tested, he said.
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- Two-thirds of infected horses recover, but the rest typically
die in five days, he said. Many horse owners have vaccinated their animals,
metro veterinarians said. No human vaccine exists.
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- The virus is rare in humans and usually does not cause
serious illness in healthy people, whose immune systems generally fight
it off. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) knows of 152
cases and 18 deaths.
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- The virus can cause a potentially deadly brain infection
called encephalitis. Elderly people and those with weakened immune system
are at highest risk of becoming seriously ill, Hull said.
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- Symptoms of a serious West Nile infection include headache,
high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, tremors, convulsions,
muscle weakness, paralysis and coma, according to the CDC. If symptoms
occur, they come three to 15 days after a bite from a carrier mosquito.
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- Health officials alerted Minnesota physicians to consider
West Nile as a possible cause of encephalitis and to test for it. Even
so, the West Nile risk pales next to public health concerns such as influenza,
car accidents or the deadly food-borne bacterium E. coli, officials said.
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- Dead crows
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- Dead crows can be a sign that West Nile has arrived in
an area.
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- Mike McLean, spokesman for the Metropolitan Mosquito
Control District, said the agency often finds or hears about dead crows
and has submitted dozens for testing from many areas. That the first infected
crows came from Golden Valley and Isle represents "just a roll of
the dice, more than anything," McLean said.
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- Andrea Campbell, Isle's deputy city clerk, would have
preferred a different roll of the dice. On July 9, she reported the first
crow that turned out to be infected.
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- It was near death when spotted on the side of Lake Shore
Boulevard between Isle and Wahkon. She said the town clerk and a maintenance
worker went to get the bird so it could be sent to the Health Department.
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- They didn't want to pick up the moving bird, she said.
A call to the Health Department produced these instructions: break its
neck.
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- But the crow arranged its own demise. It flopped onto
the busy road and was run over by a truck. They sent in the remains for
tests, which came back positive.
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- "I'm glad they persisted," said Health Department
epidemiologist David Neitzel.
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- Finding the virus in crows doesn't automatically mean
humans will be infected.
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- "There are places where they've had raging epidemics
in crows but never had any cases in people," said Dr. Kirk Smith,
another Health Department epidemiologist.
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- Mosquito control
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- Mosquito control is a standard response to West Nile.
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- Before Mosquito Control District workers begin spraying
in Golden Valley, the agency wants to determine what kind of mosquito is
carrying the virus, McLean said.
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- Minnesota is home to 17 kinds of mosquitoes known to
carry West Nile, officials said. The Culex mosquito has been implicated
most often.
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- Once it's known which mosquitoes carry the virus, McLean
said, the agency will tailor its approach to reduce their populations.
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- Health officials said people can reduce their risk of
being infected by wearing long-sleeved pants and shirts, using mosquito
repellent and staying inside or in screened areas when mosquitoes are most
active, typically around dusk.
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- Eliminating standing water, where mosquitoes breed, also
helps. People also should report sick or dead birds, especially crows and
blue jays, officials said.
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- To report a dead bird, call the Mosquito Control District
at 651-645-9149 or the Health Department at 612-676-5414 or 1-877-676-5414.
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- Jill Burcum is at jburcum@startribune.com.
Joy Powell is at jpowell@startribune.com.
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- © Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
- http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3110401.html
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