FRANCAIS
July 20, 2002
WEST NILE VIRUS BULLETIN #5
Two more birds have been identified as positive for the West Nile virus. A crow found in south central Winnipeg, submitted on Sunday, July 14, 2002, was confirmed positive for West Nile virus. Since it is the second bird found in Winnipeg, additional testing is not required to confirm the test. The second bird was a magpie, found in the R.M. of Richot on Tuesday, July 9, 2002. This bird has tested presumptive positive. Confirmation will be available early next week.
The crow found in the R.M. of St. Andrews has now been confirmed as positive for the West Nile virus. The bird was submitted on Friday, July 12, 2002.
The first positive bird was a crow confirmed positive in Winnipeg on July 15, 2002. It was identified as presumptive positive on July 12, 2002.
West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes. It affects people, animals and birds. Most people will never get sick from it, although in rare cases, it can cause serious illness. The risk of becoming ill from West Nile virus continues to be low in Manitoba.
Manitobans can help by:
- reducing standing water that may collect in backyards, in old tires, children’s toys, pet bowls, wading pools or stagnant ponds, or under flower pots;
- minimizing mosquito bites by wearing light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing, using mosquito repellent with DEET, reducing the amount of time spent outdoors during peak mosquito hours at dawn and dusk; and
- reporting dead birds only from the crow family which includes blue jays, ravens, magpies, gray jays and crows.
Public information is available by calling Health Links at 788-8200 in Winnipeg or 1-888-315-9257 or checking the Manitoba Health Web site at www.gov.mb.ca/health.
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