Contacts: Tim
Church, Communications Office360-236-4077, 360-534-0068 (pgr.) Gordon MacCracken,
Communications Office 360-236-4072
Magpie is
SpokaneCounty’s first
West Nile
virus detection SpokaneCounty has its first-ever confirmed
detection of West Nile virus OLYMPIA -
Spokane
County has its first-ever confirmed
detection of West Nile virus, a magpie collected Sept. 2 in the West Plains area
west of Spokane.
The mosquito-borne virus has been present in Washington since early this decade, but until now it
hadn’t been found in Spokane
County. The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at
Washington State
University,
Pullman,
notified the Washington State Department of Health’s Zoonotic Disease Program
that the bird was infected with the virus.
One human West Nile case has been confirmed in Washington this year, a
Klickitat
County man in his 50s
who is recovering. Several more human cases are awaiting the outcome of
confirmatory testing. Washington
recorded three human cases in 2008, its most ever.
While fall is nearly here, West Nile
virus season is not over. In fact, the first few weeks of September are usually
a peak time for this illness. People should continue to take steps to protect
themselves. West Nile is spread by mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds,
so avoiding mosquito bites is important. Try to stay inside at dusk and dawn,
make sure windows and screens are tight, use mosquito repellents and, whenever
possible, wear long sleeves and trousers.
Most of the state’s West Nile detections this year have been east of the
Cascade Mountains. Also this week, a
Franklin County horse was found to have the virus, an
adult quarter horse gelding that was euthanized. It’s that county’s first horse
to test positive, although birds and mosquito pools from Franklin County
have tested positive previously.
West Nile can cause serious illness such as encephalitis and meningitis. In rare
cases, it can be fatal. Symptoms may range from fever, headache and body aches
to muscle weakness, paralysis and coma. People whose symptoms continue should
seek health care.
Try to eliminate mosquito habitat around the home. Remove standing water in
containers such as buckets, old tires, wading pools and birdbaths where
mosquitoes can lay eggs. Make sure gutters are cleaned out so they don’t hold
standing water. Also, fix leaky outdoor faucets and sprinklers.
Three birds from Western Washington have tested positive this year. All the
other positive results have come from Central and Eastern Washington.
Dead birds may be
reported online
to state or local public health agencies. Information is on the state health
agency’s West Nile virus
page.
