WEST NILE FOUND IN A.V. FOWL CASE FIRST LOCAL SIGN THIS YEAR.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer LANCASTER - West Nile virus West Nile virus, microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition. The virus is a flavivirus and is related to a number of viruses that cause encephalitis. has been detected in a chicken in west Lancaster, the first local sign this year of the disease that has killed 13 people in California. Virus antibodies were confirmed in a blood sample taken from a chicken in one of eight ``sentinel'' flocks the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Mosquito and Vector Control Vector control is any method to limit or eradicate the vectors of vector born diseases, for which the pathogen (e.g. virusor parasite) is transmitted by a vector which can be mammals, birds or arthropods, especially insects, and more specifically mosquitoes. District uses to detect mosquito-borne viruses such as West Nile West Nile may refer to:
see St. Louis encephalitis. and western equine encephalitis western equine encephalitis see equine viral encephalomyelitis; abbreviated WEE. . ``It is crazy to think that West Nile virus is not in the A.V., if it's been detected all around us,'' said Karen Mellor, the district's entomologist. ``We just hadn't submitted the right bird or mosquito for testing.'' Currently no human or horse cases and no other signs of West Nile virus have been reported in the Los Angeles County portion of the Antelope Valley, but infected birds have previously been reported in Mojave, Castaic, Santa Clarita and Apple Valley, officials said. As of this week, a total of 438 human West Nile virus infections have been reported in California. The 13th fatality was reported Friday. Mosquito abatement officials said 199 infected horses, of which 92 died or had to be euthanized, have been reported in California. Nationwide, 35 people have died this year. A dead raven found last October in Pearblossom provided the first confirmation of West Nile virus in the Antelope Valley, but cold weather that followed killed off mosquitoes that could have spread it. First discovered in the United States in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of in 1999 and spread steadily westward since, the potentially deadly disease last year sickened more than 9,800 Americans and killed more than 260. The virus is spread by mosquitoes that bite infected birds and then pass it on to people or other animals. Health officials say the risk of acquiring the virus is low. About 80 percent of people who become infected with the virus show no symptoms, and most of those who become ill show only mild flulike symptoms. In rare cases, the virus can cause encephalitis encephalitis (ĕnsĕf'əlī`təs), general term used to describe a diffuse inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, usually of viral origin, often transmitted by mosquitoes, in contrast to a bacterial infection of the meninges and death. People over age 50 are most at risk for severe cases of the disease. There is no specific treatment for the virus. Dead birds are an early sign of the arrival of the virus, which is not spread by person-to-person contact - though it has been spread by breast- feeding and blood transfusions - or directly by birds. The local mosquito abatement district in July extended its spraying to Rancho Vista, Quartz Hill and other areas outside its boundaries after receiving a $54,000 grant from Los Angeles County. |
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