Hello, Jeff...

Notice below that Dr. Stone, the NY State Pathologist, has even changed the way a necropsy is done regarding WNV danger.

So, what does that tell us? They are implementing the same type of safety standards as would be used for HCV/HIV and other blood borne diseases.

This tells me that back in 1999, on your program of October 25th, I was correct when I theorized that this 'West Nile Virus' which I refer to as WNV-NY99 isolate was very, very different from naturally- occurring WNV.

Patty

From: Judy Cox
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002

As a veterinarian in the middle of the Kansas-Nebraska WNV outbreak, I have been asked several times about the safety of cleaning game birds (it is already dove season here and we haven't had frost yet). Later seasons will open on pheasant, quail, and prairie chicken (although usually by that time we will have had a good killing frost some weeks ahead of it). Are there any definite recommendations? Since the hunter does skin, gut, and chop the head off the birds? Thank you, Judy H. Cox, DVM, MS, DACVIM Associate Professor, Equine Medicine Dept. of Clinical Sciences Kansas State University Cox@vet.k-state.edu

From Ward Stone Subject: Cleaning of game birds Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 In New York, we have long recommended that sportsmen wear disposable gloves while dressing gamebirds, and as soon as possible, they should thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water. Also, the meat should not be handled with bare hands during preparation for the table.

The contamination of scratches and cuts with WNV containing blood and tissue is a probable route to WNV infection. Knives and other tools used on processing gamebirds are disinfected with a 5% household bleach and then washed in soapy water and rinsed. Work areas can also be disinfected with the dilute bleach. This year's late summer and fall, we have had a high prevalence of WNV in birds (especially crows and blue jays). Recently, more than HALF (emphasis added -ed) of them submitted for WNV monitoring have been positive.

This has lead to a change in our necropsy room dissection technique. It is inevitable that with thousands of birds being necropsied for WNV monitoring, there will be rare scalpel cuts through gloves, and occasional bone splinters entering the flesh of the pathologist or technician. We are now wearing stainless steel mesh gloves to reduce that risk. One or two latex gloves are worn beneath the stainless steel mesh glove and two more over it. This greatly slows dissections, but they make a safer setting in the necropsy room. This is important, since we have no vaccine yet available, and one has to rely primarily on one's immune system for the outcome of a WNV infection.