State identifies 10 new birds in six counties with West Nile virus

The Detroit Free Press reports on current West Nile testing.

Ten new birds have tested positive for the West Nile virus in six Michigan counties, state health officials said Tuesday.

Janet Olszewski, head of the state health department, said record rainfall in many parts of the state this spring has created favorable conditions for mosquitos.

Iosco is one of the 10 counties reporting a WNV positive test. A map of 2004 Corvid test results is available from the State of Michigan Emerging Disease web site. Last year Iosco had no corvid's test positive for the WNV.

A corvid is a bird that is a member of the Corvidae family (or crow family), which includes crows, blue jays and ravens. Corvids appear to be especially susceptible to West Nile virus infection and can be used as an early indicator of the virus in an area. Testing of corvids found within the area of a given zip code continues until one WNV-positive bird has been identified; i.e., no further birds found in that zip code area will be tested after the first positive has been identified.

The Iosco County Board of Commissioners is considering a tax millage for mosquito control but to-date has no plans to spray for mosquitos -- the actual carrier of the West Nile Virus.