West Nile virus spreads into Florida

The state's extensive disease surveillance network finds the first case of the virus in a dead black crow in Jefferson County.

By WES ALLISON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 7, 2001

For once, it appears, Florida's experience with mosquitoes proved a good thing.

The state's extensive mosquito control and disease surveillance network has identified Florida's first case of West Nile virus in a black crow found dead in Jefferson County in the Panhandle.

The discovery, by an alert homeowner in Monticello, marks the first time the West Nile virus, which can cause potentially deadly encephalitis, has been found this far south since it arrived in North America two years ago. It was discovered first in the New York area, where it killed nine people, and has been migrating steadily down the East Coast, being carried by birds and spread by mosquitoes.

Last summer it was discovered as far south as North Carolina.

"We've been expecting it," said Dr. Steve Wiersma, acting state epidemiologist.

Florida is one of the few U.S. states that has had an advanced surveillance system in place for years. Health officials ratcheted up those efforts last year, in response to the threat of West Nile.

Although West Nile appears about as dangerous as St. Louis encephalitis, another mosquito-borne virus that occasionally strikes people in the South and Midwest, Wiersma said health officials fear the unknown: They don't know how easily West Nile is transmitted to people, or which mosquitoes are the best carriers.

Under a West Nile response plan developed last year, state health, wildlife and agriculture officials now will increase efforts to find dead birds and check mosquitoes in drainage ditches, swamps and neighborhoods for the disease, said Dr. Lisa Conti, the state public health veterinarian.

West Nile is native to West Africa and parts of the Middle East and recently has spread to Eastern Europe. The virus attacks the central nervous system, and its early stages feel like the flu. Most people's immune systems beat the virus in several days.

If it advances, West Nile can cause brain and neurological problems, including seizures, lethargy, paralysis and coma. The elderly and the sick are most at risk.

Although nine people have died from complications of the disease in the New York metropolitan area, it likely has infected scores more in New York and other mid-Atlantic states with little effect.

"We think the risk is low, and other states that have found this virus have not had any cases, but the risk is not zero," Wiersma said.

It's a good idea to use insect repellent or cover up to avoid bites.

For the past year, state and county health officials have asked residents to report dead birds, especially blue jays or crows, which are particularly good carriers of West Nile.

They reiterated that request Friday. The Monticello resident found the crow in mid-June. State officials confirmed late Friday that it died of West Nile virus.

"I think it shows that our surveillance system worked," Conti said.

How you can help

The best way to track the West Nile virus is to track dead birds. Although mosquitoes spread it, birds carry it and serve as the primary host.

People who find dead birds, especially blue jays or crows, are asked to call their local health department or register the discovery on a state Web site established for this purpose, wld.fwc.state.fl.us/bird.

For more information about West Nile or mosquito control, check the state's Web site at www.myflorida.com or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov.

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