West Nile virus appears in Pinellas

The virus is found in a sentinel chicken near the border with Pasco as Florida's mosquito season nears its end.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 3, 2001

West Nile virus, the mosquito-borne disease that has killed a handful of horses and sickened a number of people around Florida, has finally made its way into Pinellas County.

The virus was found in a sentinel chicken near the Pinellas-Pasco border, officials reported Friday. Pinellas County keeps 56 such chickens in eight coops spread around the county, and it tests the chickens' blood every week to check for diseases carried by mosquitoes.

Although the disease is potentially life-threatening, health officials say the discovery is no reason to panic. Only one person in the United States -- a woman in Atlanta -- has died of West Nile this year. Officials say people should be more worried about the flu, which kills 20,000 Americans annually.

"The odds of contracting West Nile virus are very low," said Dr. Julia Gill, epidemiology program manager for the Pinellas County Health Department.

Still, experts say it's never a bad idea to avoid mosquitoes.

The chicken that had West Nile was in the Keller well field off Keystone Road east of Tarpon Springs. The virus doesn't hurt the chickens, but their immune systems generate antibodies to fight it, and those antibodies show up in tests.

The discovery did not come as a surprise because the virus already has been found in Pasco County.

Throughout Florida, West Nile virus has infected at least eight people and 237 horses since July, according to state officials. In extreme cases it can cause encephalitis, an incurable swelling of the brain that can kill or cause brain damage.

The disease has killed horses in Citrus, Alachua and Jefferson counties. A West Nile vaccine for horses has been distributed to veterinarians.

But West Nile is still rare, and even people who are infected seldom have serious health complications. No one has gotten sick from it in the Tampa Bay area, and no one in Florida has died from it.

Researchers say it is likely that scores, and possibly hundreds, of Floridians have had West Nile and never knew it. Most people who contract the virus either have no noticeable symptoms or have flulike feelings for three to six days.

The elderly, very young children or people with weakened immune systems are most at risk.

West Nile was discovered in this country in summer 1999, when it killed nine people in New York City and its suburbs. Since then, the disease has moved steadily south with migratory birds.

Birds carry the virus, and mosquitoes spread it from bird to bird, bird to human, or bird to animal.

On the bright side, Florida's mosquito season is nearing its end.

"The good news is, we're getting very close to the end of the season. It's usually finished by late November or early December," said Dr. Steven Wiersma, acting director of the state's Bureau of Epidemiology.

Weeks ago, the Tampa Bay area had a lot of mosquitoes because mosquito-spraying aircraft had been grounded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The numbers have since dropped back to normal, said Nancy Page, senior environmental specialist for Pinellas County Mosquito Control.

"They are dwindling off from what we typically have in the summer," Page said. "We are getting less rain."

To prevent mosquito bites, Page recommended wearing long pants, long sleeves and repellent; limiting your time outside at dawn and dusk; and getting rid of standing water around your home.

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