The Mercer County Health Department will be submitting dead birds to the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the University of Illinois for West Nile virus testing. Birds may be submitted May through October. In addition to crows and blue jays, the state will be accepting grackles, sparrows, finches, robins, cardinals, flycatchers, swallows, catbirds, mockingbirds, warblers, and wrens. The lab will also test small or medium size hawks and owls. If you see a dead bird that you believe is one of the species listed, please contact the health department at 309-582-3761. Additional information about West Nile virus can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s website at www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/wnv.htm.
West Nile Virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on a bird infected with the virus. Most people who become infected with West Nile will have either no symptoms or only mild symptoms of illness. Only about two out of ten people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will experience any illness. Illness associated with West Nile is typically mild and includes symptoms such as fever, headache and body aches, but serious illness, such as encephalitis and meningitis are possible. People older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of developing serious illnesses due to West Nile Virus.