Rense.com


West Nile Virus Confirmed In
Quebec, Suspected In Manitoba

CBC News
7-13-2


WINNIPEG - Health officials in Manitoba believe they have found a case of West Nile virus in a dead crow.
 
It would be the first time the virus has been detected west of Ontario.
 
It follows news of a horse in neighbouring North Dakota that tested positive for the mosquito-born disease.
 
Confirmation of preliminary test results in both cases are expected within days.
 
Manitoba Health Minister Dave Chomiak has the authority to order spraying for mosquitoes if officials determine there is a health emergency.
 
Dr. Terry Tenenbaum
 
Two provinces to the east there was another case, and this one turned out to be confirmed. "This year for the first time in Quebec, two of the birds that were sent to Winnipeg for testing were found to be positive," said Dr. Terry Tenenbaum.
 
West Nile was first detected in Canada last year in Ontario. Health officials across Canada have said the spread of West Nile was inevitable. The city of Winnipeg has been preparing with an aggressive new program to wipe out as many mosquito larvae as possible. As well, there's an aggressive campaign to fog the city with an insecticide to kill off the mature mosquitoes.
 
Suspicion that the West Nile has arrived is not exactly what people in Canada's mosquito capital want to hear.
 
Robbin Lindsay
 
"It's not a situation we want people to be alarmed about, but you should take personal protective measures. But living in Winnipeg in the summer, you have to anyway," said Health Canada's Robbin Lindsay.
 
Last year 128 birds tested positive in Ontario, but not one person became sick. Health officials say very few mosquitoes actually carry the virus and only one person in 200 bitten by an infected mosquito will get sick. And only a small number of those will people become seriously ill.
 
But the Manitoba government is leaving nothing to chance. It's aggressive insecticide-spraying program has just been kicked up a notch. Over the next few days the whole city will be blanketed, even neighborhoods that have opted out of the spraying program in the past.
 
Written by CBC News Online staff
http://cbc.ca/stories/2002/07/12/westnile020712





MainPage
http://www.rense.com


This Site Served by TheHostPros