The Rural Voice, 2003-05, Page 33told the audience at the Brussels
Legion.
At this point it's felt that an
annual booster shot will be required
to maintain immunity, she said. In
fact some experts are advising a
booster later this summer when the
mosquito danger is at its highest.
Woodcock admitted that the
advice being given right now may be
different by the end of the summer
because the issue is so new. "We're
learning as we go," she said.
So far, at least, other livestock
don't seem to be affected as
badly as horses. Though birds
are the key host for the virus, farm
poultry does not seem to be affected.
The virus has a strange chain of
infection. While birds like blue jays,
crows and ravens are the main host of
the disease, humans can only get this
disease from the birds if a mosquito
bites the bird and then bites a human,
transferring the virus. Yet mosquitoes
themselves aren't affected by the
virus and can only get it from birds.
So how do the first mosquitoes of
the spring get the virus? It's one of
the mysteries health officials are
trying to solve. The current working
hypothesis is that in spring WNV
exists at low levels among birds like
crows, blue jays and even house
sparrows. Two bird -biting mosquito
species, Culex pipiens and Culex
restuans pick up the virus from these
birds and then spread it to other
birds. Other virus -carrying mosquito
species (researchers at Brock
University in St. Catharines think
there are six of these), then pass the
virus from these birds to people or
horses as they bite them looking for a
blood meal.
For a significant human outbreak
of WNV, the virus must first spread
among birds to a high level of
infection to be able to spread to
humans through the mosquitoes.
Since mosquitoes are essential for
spreading the disease both to humans
and animals and wild birds, health
officials are urging a war on
mosquitoes. The types of mosquitoes
that carry the virus tend to breed in
shallow, stagnant water so emptying
rain barrels and bird baths once a
week, regularly emptying wading
pools, cleaning out eavestroughs to
make sure they drain well and
disposing of old tires that might hold
water, can help prevent proliferation.
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MAY 2003 29