West Nile virus found in county West Nile virus found in county (July 30, 2004)

Residents warned to use insect repellant, report dead birds

By Julie O'Shea

Santa Clara County residents are being warned to protect themselves from mosquitoes after a dead crow found in San Jose tested positive for West Nile virus -- a disease that can be transmitted to humans by the pesky bug.

County officials announced last week that the bird, discovered on a South Bay lawn in June, died of the virus. This is the first confirmed case of West Nile in the Bay Area. While the disease can be deadly -- a 57-year-old Orange County man died of the virus in June -- Santa Clara County health officials said this is rare and are urging residents not to panic.

In fact, 80 percent of people who contract the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes, never display any of its flu-like symptoms, officials said. And just one out of 150 of those infected will become seriously ill.

"We don't want people to be scared or nervous. We want them to be aware," said Kriss Costa, a spokesperson with the Santa Clara County Vector Control District. "This is a new disease -- we don't have immunity."

Area blood centers are currently scanning for West Nile virus although the test is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a representative of the Stanford Medical School Blood Center.

As a precaution, residents are advised to wear insect repellant, get rid of any mosquito-breeding sources like outdoor standing water, and report dead birds to the vector control district at (877) 968-2473.

West Nile is especially fatal to birds in the corvid family, which includes crows, jays, ravens and sparrows. Dead bird sightings are a good indicator of a West Nile outbreak, and county officials should be notified within 24 hours so testing can begin immediately, Costa said.

The disease first surfaced in the United States in 1999 in New York City. Since then, it rapidly spread across the country by migrating birds before landing in Southern California earlier this year.

"It's something we've been expecting for a long time, for years," said Dr. Sara Cody, an assistant health officer for Santa Clara County. "It was not a surprise at all. Once it's here, it's here to stay, and we'll see it every season."

This year, there have been 32 reported human cases of the disease in California. Cody said the virus, which originated in Africa, can only be spread by the bite of an infected mosquito and cannot be passed from person to person.

"I actually don't feel too worried," Cody acknowledged. Still, she said residents need to be vigilant about protecting themselves from mosquitoes by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants while outside and make sure their windows and doors have tight-fitting screens.

"There is not a pill to pop (if someone is bitten)," Cody said. "There is no treatment for the virus, per se."

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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