Date: 1 Aug 2000 16:08:01 -0400 From: Joseph R Parrish Jr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Source: The Star-Ledger, 1 Aug 2000, [edited] West Nile virus spreads into Union County - ----------------------------------------- West Nile virus has been blamed for the deaths of 6 more crows, bringing to 15 the number of birds in 4 New Jersey counties found stricken with the disease, officials said yesterday. For the first time, Union County joined the list of West Nile virus hot spots as officials confirmed two crows found in Elizabeth and Rahway were among the latest to produce positive blood samples in a state laboratory. 3 of the crows were found in Bergen County, the fourth in Sayreville in Middlesex County. "I'm not surprised. We don't live in a bubble. They have been finding them all around us," said Carolyn Vollero, the chief inspector for Union County Mosquito Control. She noted the proximity of Elizabeth to Staten Island, where dead crows have also tested positive. Vollero said the county would continue it's ground spraying and other mosquito-control efforts, but insisted there would be no conversion to the kind of aerial spraying taking place in residential neighborhoods of New York City. "We don't need to press the panic button," she said. The 3 new Bergen County sites where crows tested positive were Bergenfield, Hasbrouck Heights and Old Tappan. 10 of the 15 birds shown to be infected have been recovered in Bergen, officials say. One bird collected in Hudson County tested positive last month. "It's only a matter of time before we're testing positive across the board in Bergen County," said Rod Preiss, the health officer for the Northwest Bergen Regional Health Commission. The commission covers 7 towns, including Old Tappan and Montvale, where a dead crow previously tested positive. More than two dozen people have been tested for suspected West Nile virus infections. Not one has tested positive, state officials say. There have also been no reports in New Jersey of infected mosquitoes. (Byline Angela Stewart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>) - -- Joseph R Parrish Jr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [This and similar information can now be put into context by referring to the CDC interactive maps which are now coming on-line. These maps will be up-dated weekly and provide a visual record of the progress of the West Nile virus epizootic. See "West Nile virus surveillance: interactive maps 2000.3055". -Mod.CP] ...............................cp/ds ========================== Date: 2 Aug 2000 8:56:30 -0400 From: Randall L Crom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [The following comments have been received from Dr. Randall L. Crom (USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services, 4700 River Road, Unit 41, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231) in response to issues raised by Dr. Kellon. The posting has been delayed by misdirection of mail. -Mod.CP] This is to provide some information on the West Nile virus (WNV) related issues raised on ProMED-mail recently [West Nile virus, crow - USA (New York) (04)]. The total number of birds positive this year for WNV is available, by county, for 19 state and local jurisdictions currently participating in the National West Nile Virus Surveillance System. Maps of positive findings can be found on the World Wide Web at: <http://nationalatlas.gov/virusmap.html> As for the movement of horses from areas with known WNV infections in equine, here is some background information. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of USDA is responsible for oversight of interstate and international movements of livestock, including horses. A health certificate is required for any interstate or international movement. Such a certificate would not be issued to a horse showing signs of illness. Thus, horses with clinical WNV infection would not be allowed to move interstate nor internationally. The decision not to impose restrictions on the movement of horses that are not clinically ill was based on an extensive review of the scientific literature on horses and WNV. Your statement that "horses (and lemurs)... may play a significant role in the epidemiology of West Nile virus infection" appears to be based on a statement in a paper by Hub�lek et al. published in the journal "Emerging Infectious Diseases" in 1999. In that paper there is one reference given for a similar statement on horses and lemurs. However, the cited reference gives information only about lemurs, not about horses. Upon our further inquiry, the author cited a reference text (Hannoun et al., 1969) that states that one experimentally inoculated one-year old foal developed sometimes high levels of circulating virus." The same text says that an inoculated adult horse developed a "low viremia." No quantitative details about the results or methods of the experiment were given. All other evidence of which we are aware, including other peer-reviewed papers (e.g., Schmidt et al., 1963) and reference texts (e.g., Anonymous, 1987; Hayes, 1989; Peiris et al., 1994), indicates that horses develop relatively low viremias. Further, there is no epidemiological nor empirical evidence of horses ever having been involved in the origin or propagation of an epizootic of WNV. Based on this evidence it was concluded that horses do not play a significant role in the epidemiology of WNV but at the most are only incidental (dead-end) hosts. Further evidence that horses develop relatively low viremias can be found in the results of yet unpublished WNV studies, including an equine inoculation study conducted by USDA-APHIS in late 1999. That study found a maximum WNV viremia in horses of 2.5 log 10 per ml of plasma. Such a viremia is considered to be below the level at which a mosquito could acquire WNV from a horse. Further equine inoculation and transmission studies are underway at Colorado State University (CSU), primarily in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Preliminary results of the first phase of that study are consistent with the USDA study in terms of maximum viremias observed. In the second phase of the CSU/CDC studies, virgin mosquitoes are being fed on WNV-infected horses to see if they can become infected. Unless credible evidence of transmission, or of a significant potential for transmission, of WNV from horses to mosquitoes is found, restrictions on movements of horses from WNV-affected areas will not be imposed by USDA-APHIS. Currently there is no such evidence. There are also no areas in the United States in which equine are currently known to be infected with WNV. Publications with information on WNV in horses: Anonymous. 1987. West Nile fever. In: Zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and animals, 2nd ed. (Acha, P.N., Szyfres, B., Eds.). Pan American Health Organization (Scientific publication no. 503), Washington, D.C. 525-528. Cantile, C., Di Guardo, G., Eleni, C., Arispici, M. 2000. Clinical and neuropathological features of West Nile virus equine encephalomyelitis in Italy. Equine Vet J 32(1):31-35. Hannoun, C., Panthier, R., Corniou, B. 1969. Epidemiology of West Nile infections in the south of France. In: Arboviruses of the California Complex and Bunyamwera Group (B�rdos, V., Ed.). Vydav. SAV, Bratislava. 379-387. Hayes, C.G. 1989. West Nile fever. In: The arboviruses: epidemiology and ecology, Vol. V (Monath, T., Ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 59-88. Hub�lek, Z., Halouzka, J. 1999. West Nile fever - a reemerging mosquito-borne viral disease in Europe. Emerg Infect Dis 5(5):643-650. <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/hubalek.htm> Peiris, J.S.M., Amerasinghe, F.P. 1994. West Nile fever. In: Handbook of zoonoses, section B: viral, 2nd Ed. (Beran, G., Ed.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 139-148. Schmidt, J.R., El Mansoury, H.K. 1963. Natural and experimental infection of Egyptian equines with West Nile virus. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 57:415-427. - -- Dr. Randall L. Crom USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services 4700 River Road, Unit 41 Riverdale, MD 20737-1231 Tel.: (301) 734-8423 Fax: (301) 734-7817 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.aphis.usda.gov> ...................................................cp/ds <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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