Onondaga County is asking residents to bring dead birds to the health department so they can be tested for mosquito-borne illnesses.
The county is collaborating with Upstate Medical University on a public health initiative that will use the dead birds to track the spread of diseases like West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
Health Department officials now report three human cases of West Nile virus in Onondaga County residents this summer. So, as the virus continues to be an active threat, a public health initiative will use dead bird testing to identify the virus in its early stages. The Thangamani Lab at Upstate’s Center for Vector-Borne Diseases will test the birds. Director Saravanan Thangamani said a bird can be an early indicator of the location of the virus.
“Mosquitoes acquire the virus from the birds and then humans get it from the mosquito. So definitely it gives us maybe a month or two early warning,” Thangamani said.
Until now, viruses were tracked by checking mosquito traps. Thangamani said crows, blue jays and other perching birds are most likely carrying the virus.
“People can use a trash bag, a regular trash bag, to actually collect them and then wrap it and then tie with a rubber band or maybe a thread and then bring it to the county,” he said. “I think that it's best to keep them in the garage. I wouldn't put it anywhere inside their house. I'll keep it in the garage and then bring it to the county health department as soon as possible.”
Thangamani admits we’re coming to the end of mosquito season in central New York, but adds this program will rev up again in the spring, giving the county that early warning that could prevent the spread of the virus that can lead to serious neurological problems or death.
Residents can bring the birds to the health department’s office on Rte. 31 in Clay.
