GILROY
– The county continues to field as many as 40 to 50 calls a day
from residents who want information about how to handle dead birds
or are reporting birds to be tested for West Nile virus.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The county continues to field as many as 40 to 50 calls a day from residents who want information about how to handle dead birds or are reporting birds to be tested for West Nile virus.
Within a week of confirming six new bird cases, including one in Gilroy, Santa Clara County’s Vector Control District hosted a demonstration of how to safely handle dead birds.
Due to the large number of dead birds that may occur in and around Gilroy, the agency may not have the time and manpower to respond to all reports. As a result, many residents may have to dispose of the dead birds they find.
Vector Control is currently picking up certain species of dead birds to track West Nile’s progression, although it will shift its focus to the mosquito threat once the virus is firmly established in the county.
“We try to respond to all the dead bird calls where the birds are the particular species we are looking for and still testable,” said Kriss Costa, Vector Control’s community resource specialist. “But sometimes it just isn’t possible.”
Residents are asked to report dead raptors, sparrows, crows, birds of prey and finches that have been dead less than 48 hours and appear uninjured. Photographs of the birds appear on the Vector Control Web site.
To report a dead bird, residents may call the Vector Control District of the state Department of Health Services. If the dead bird has not been picked up by 3 p.m., residents may safely dispose of the animal, but should avoid touching it with their bare hands or coming into contact with any blood or secretions.
Vector Control recommends picking up a dead bird with a hand that is inside two plastic bags. By grasping the bird through the bags, they can be turned inside-out over so the animal is inside the bag, which should be tightly sealed and disposed of in a covered trash container.
No human or horse cases of West Nile have been reported in Santa Clara County, although to date, more than 115 human cases have been reported in California, with five fatalities.
The virus is rarely fatal in young, healthy humans and only causes West Nile fever in an estimated 20 percent of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Report dead birds to the state at 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473); or to Vector Control at 792-5010 or http://www.sccvector.org.
