East Jefferson and Clallam counties are poised to step up efforts to track the West Nile virus, which made its first confirmed appearance on the west side of the Hood Canal last week.
The virus was found in a dead crow about 2 miles west of downtown Shelton in Mason County on Friday.
Whether infected mosquitoes carry the potentially deadly West Nile virus north into East Jefferson and Clallam counties is yet to be seen, but it could happen, the top public health official for the North Olympic Peninsula said Friday.
“At this point, it’s a little hard to know if that crow is a harbinger for more West Nile virus in birds on the Olympic Peninsula or whether it was a fluke,” said Tom Locke, public health officer for Jefferson and Clallam counties.
“Most of the activity has been in eastern Washington.”
The discovery means that the virus has taken a leap across Hood Canal.
While no human cases of the disease have been reported this year in Washington state, the virus has been found in five horses, seven birds and 161 mosquitoes sampled this year, the state health department reports on its Web site at www.doh.wa.gov.
Symptoms
Most people who become infected with the virus do not become ill but some develop flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches and occasionally swollen lymph glands or a rash, county health officials have said.
In rare cases, West Nile virus can cause encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, inflammation of the lining of the spinal cord and brain. People older than 50 have the highest risk for serious illness.
The disease is spread through mosquitoes. While there is no vaccine for humans, veterinarians can vaccinate horses against it.
Locke said Jefferson County is testing wild birds that have been found dead and Clallam County is ready to do so.
“If need arises, we can certainly do it” in Clallam County,” Locke said.
“What would trigger that need would be if we start to see bird kills,” he said.
The best advice Locke has for avoiding exposure to West Nile virus is to avoid mosquito bites: Cover up when outdoors, use insect repellent and avoid the outdoors at dawn or dusk.
“The very dry conditions have probably been unfavorable to mosquitoes,” Locke said.
“The mosquito populations can really change if we get some rainfall and the rains start puddling.”
Voracious mosquitoes
When conditions are right, he said, “Marsh mosquitoes are very voracious and can overwinter several seasons and travel miles. They’re almost always active in both counties in estuary areas.”
Not all mosquitoes transmit West Nile virus, he said, but at least four kinds that carry it “have been detected on the North Olympic Peninsula.”
Veterinarians who learn of potential cases in horses or other animals should phone the State Veterinarian’s Office at 360-902-1881.
Dead wild birds can be reported on the state Department of Health’s Web site.
For more information, phone Jefferson County Public Health at 360-385-9444 or Clallam County Health and Human Services at 360-417-2274.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
