West Nile virus is here -- bird tests positive in Pend Oreille County

A dead raven in Pend Oreille County is heralding a message public health officials have both dreaded and expected: The West Nile virus has arrived in Washington state.

The bird, discovered recently in Newport, near the Idaho border, has tested positive for the mosquito-borne virus, health officials said yesterday.

It likely will not be the last, given the virus' steady march from the East Coast since 1999. But although West Nile has arrived in this state sooner than expected, the threat is muted for now.


		Renee C. Byer / P-I
	Darin Collins, associate veterinarian, left, inoculates Briana with a West Nile virus vaccine while pony keeper Stacy Cooper holds on at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Western Washington should be spared until at least next spring when mosquito activity resumes, experts say.

Birds, particularly crows and ravens, are highly susceptible to the disease and therefore pose an "early-warning system." No humans have contracted the infection in this state, and health officials cautioned that less than 1 percent of bites by infected mosquitoes can cause severe disease.

"The risk of West Nile illness (in humans) is low, and taking precautions to protect against mosquito bites can help you reduce that risk," said Jack Lilja, the state Health Department's West Nile surveillance program manager.

Matias Valenzuela, a spokesman for Public Health-Seattle & King County, said surveillance efforts are well under way. Targeted application of "natural" larvicides would be used only in an emergency.

Nationwide, there have been 2,530 cases of West Nile virus in humans, with 125 reported deaths, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus has particularly affected the elderly and those with impaired immune systems. Illinois has been hit hardest, with 599 reported cases and 33 deaths.

Some animals, however, are at high risk. The Newport raven was staggering and unable to fly when first observed by the unidentified resident, who notified local health officials.

The bird, which died several weeks ago, was one of about 100 statewide that have been sent to the National Wildlife Health Center Laboratory in Madison, Wis., for testing, Lilja said.

"We have a good surveillance system in place, and it worked," Lilja said. "Citizen involvement is key."

Lilja added that the state hopes to have its own lab in place next year to reduce the lag time between sending in samples and receiving results.

Woodland Park Zoo yesterday joined other zoos nationwide in expressing concerns about the virus' impact on animals. Particularly at risk are raptors -- meat-eating birds such as eagles and peregrine falcons -- and equids -- members of the horse family.


		Renee C. Byer / P-I
	Linda Moneymaker, a zoo veterinarian technician, comforts "Cherokee" after the pony was innoculated for the West Nile Virus at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Three ponies were innoculated Wednesday.

Darin Collins, Woodland Park's veterinarian, yesterday finished vaccinating the last three of 17 ponies to protect them against the virus. The ponies -- Brianna, Kody and Cherokee -- were carefully stuck in the neck below their manes as Collins fed them carrots. Only salt-and-pepper-speckled Cherokee flinched, before quietly grazing with the others.

"Zoos are the front line in detecting the virus," Collins said. "It is likely that when it comes to Seattle, which is inevitable, we'll see it at the zoo first."

While the vaccine is expected to help protect the zoo's zebras, ponies and miniature horse, there is no vaccine yet developed that can help birds. The equine vaccine has been proven ineffective on birds, Collins said.

Veterinarians nationwide are particularly concerned about protecting threatened and endangered species. Zoos, which share breeding programs, are hard-pressed to isolate infected populations against a borderless threat such as mosquitoes.

Woodland Park's two peregrine falcons are part of an endangered species, said Collins, adding that winter will hopefully give researchers more time to find a bird vaccine and other anti-virus solutions.

Of the 326 birds and 100 species at Woodland Park, the peregrine falcons, and about 20 Humboldt penguins, also an endangered species, are of big concern, Collins said.

Holly Reed, staff veterinarian at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, said while the zoo has no equines, it is concerned about other animals, particularly raptors. The zoo has eagles, kestrels and hawks that are at risk.

Like Woodland Park, the Tacoma zoo has submitted about 40 animal tissue and blood samples to a national lab for testing.

So far, results of the samples for both zoos have come back negative, Collins and Reed said. The samples include squirrels, opossums, crows, geese and other wild animals found dead in the zoos.

"The zoo community (particularly at the Bronx Zoo in New York) was the group that actually identified the virus and brought its attention to humans," Reed said. "Zoos have been watching it move."