Magpie Tests Positive for West Nile
deseretnews.com
2006/06/07
A magpie found in Salt Lake County has tested positive for West Nile virus.
It was the first detection of West Nile virus in Utah this year and the earliest West Nile virus has been reported in Utah since monitoring began, said Ilene Risk, director of the epidemiology bureau for the Salt Lake Valley Health Department .
Wild birds are important indicators of West Nile viral activity because the virus is often detected in birds before it is detected in humans.
"That tells us that the virus is circulating in our population and that means that people need to take precautions," Risk said.
There have been no human cases so far this year, but West Nile virus was detected in every area of the state last year. There were 52 reported human cases. Twenty Utahns were hospitalized and one died in 2005, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Of those infected, 80 percent will exhibit no symptoms and 20 percent will exhibit minor West Nile symptoms, like a fever or headaches. A very small percentage of those infected develop a serious illness, Risk said.
State Rounds up Geese at Park to Perform Tests for Bird Flu
Rocky Mountain News
2006/06/07
Jim Erickson
Hundreds of chirping goslings and honking adult Canada geese were herded into makeshift corrals Tuesday at City Park as state wildlife officials launched a monthlong effort to test for bird flu.
About 3,000 Front Range Canada geese will be tested, along with others on the Western Slope.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus has not been detected in North America, so the chances that it would show up now in non-migratory City Park geese are "almost zero," said Jim Gammonley, avian research program manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
But the goose project is part of a larger effort to monitor the state's wild birds and domestic flocks so the virus can be detected quickly if migratory birds - or perhaps smuggled poultry shipments - eventually bring it here.
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