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North Carolina West Nile Monitoring Efforts
- To: carolinaleps@duke.edu, carolinabirds@acpub.duke.edu
- Subject: North Carolina West Nile Monitoring Efforts
- From: Marcee Toliver <Marcee.Toliver@ncmail.net>
- Date: Fri, 04 Aug 2000 13:58:39 -0400
- CC: Nolan Newton <Nolan.Newton@ncmail.net>
- Organization: NC DENR DEH Temp
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
We apologize for the intrusion and cross postings. Because your group
is active outdoors, we would like to bring the following information
to
your attention.
North Carolina is actively conducting surveillance for West Nile
Virus,
an arbovirus that is transmitted by mosquitoes. New York City
experienced an outbreak of disease caused by the virus last year,
leading to the deaths
of people, several horses and hundreds of birds, especially crows and
jays.
In order to increase monitoring and surveillance capabilities, the
Public Health Pest Management Section of the Division of Environmental
Health, NCDENR, is asking that you report any unusual crow, jay or
raptor (birds of prey, such as hawks, falcons, and their relatives)
behavior
or mortality. Specifically we are interested in any crow, jay or
raptor
that appears to be affected by a neurologic disorder; these birds
would
be unable to perch or fly and may act confused or dazed. Also
please report any dead crows, jays or raptors that do not appear to
have
an identifiable cause of death i.e. trauma, predator, etc. We ask
that
dead birds be placed inside a double layer of plastic bags and kept in
a
refrigerator or cooler, until they can be picked up by an agent of
Public Health Pest Management. Please record the following
information on a piece of paper to accompany the bird:
your name
your address
your phone number
the date the bird was found
the county the bird was found in
As a precaution, we recommend the use of
gloves and thorough hand washing after handling live or dead birds.
In addition, we would like to have any information you may have on
crow
roosts throughout North Carolina. We will evaluate their locations
and
may send a staff member to survey the area. If there are any crow
roosts in areas that your frequent, we would like to request your
assistance in monitoring these roosts for potential problems.
As you enjoy the natural beauty North Carolina has to offer, we
caution
you to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites. We recommend the use
of insect repellents, long sleeves and pants, and avoiding exposure
during prime mosquito times, particularly dawn and dusk.
For more information on West Nile Virus and other diseases mosquitoes
may carry, please refer to our web site at:
http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/phpm/pages/index.htm and specifically
http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/phpm/pages/WNVAlert.htm
To contact us directly regarding bird mortality or illness, please
e-mail our West Nile Virus Alert e-mail address at ncwnv@ncmail.net or
call our hotline at 1-877-790-1747. You can also reach our offices at
(919) 733-6407 during normal State Government business hours ( 8-5,
M-F).
We are also maintaining an e-mail list for WNV information related
to North Carolina. If you want to be added to this list, send an
e-mail
to Nolan.Newton@ncmail.net asking to be added.
This e-mail is being sent to the following lists:
Carolina Birds
Carolina Leps
NC Wildflower
We would like to encourage you to forward this e-mail to any other
North Carolina
groups that you feel would benefit from this information, or you may
send us their address and we will forward the information to them.
Thank you for your help and cooperation.
Nolan Newton, Ph.D.
Chief, Public Health Pest Management Section
Division of Environmental Health
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources