Second Missouri bird found dead from West Nile virus

ST. LOUIS -- First, it was a blue jay in the Bootheel. And on Thursday, for the second time in two days and the second time this year, a bird was found to have the West Nile virus in Missouri.

The latest finding involved a dead crow found June 28 in St. Louis city. Lab tests confirmed the illness, said Dr. Howard Pue, chief of communicable disease control and veterinary public health for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The disease first showed up in Missouri last year. Eight birds -- all crows and all in St. Louis city or county -- were confirmed killed by West Nile in September and October. The first confirmation of a case this year came Wednesday when the state health department announced the discovery of a dead blue jay in southeast Missouri's Stoddard County.

Experts predict there will be more to come.

"This doesn't come as a surprise," said Larry Kettelhut, head of the St. Louis Health Department's Environmental Services Bureau. "We knew it was here."

Mosquito danger

West Nile is spread by mosquitoes, which can spread the virus as they feed on birds and animals -- including humans. Birds most commonly infected are crows and blue jays; Pue said it wasn't clear why those species are more susceptible.

Health officials are taking steps to get a handle on the depth of the problem. Some birds and mosquitoes are being trapped for random testing. In the St. Louis area, residents are being asked to report sightings of dead birds that had no apparent injuries.

The disease can cause inflammation of the brain in humans, though no cases in humans have been reported in Missouri. Nationwide, seven confirmed cases in humans have been reported this year, all in Louisiana.

The Kansas City Health Department said this week it had received an unconfirmed report from an Independence man who claimed he was diagnosed him with the virus. Pue investigated and found that was wrong -- while the man may have had an insect bite and an illness, there was no indication he had West Nile.

"There is really, really nothing to substantiate that," he said.

Most people infected with West Nile virus show no symptoms. It can, however, cause flu-like symptoms and, in about 1 percent of human cases, cause a serious illness that includes encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.

The virus was first discovered in the United States in 1999 in New York City. It spread to the west and south. Birds also have tested positive for the virus in neighboring Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Pue said the virus is expected to show up as far west as the Rocky Mountains this year.