By Elizabeth Putnam
For Central Wisconsin Sunday
Sunday, May 25, 2003

North central Wisconsin conservation officials are bracing for an unpredictable West Nile virus season.

They've already been put on high alert by recent news of a horse in north central Minnesota dying of the virus weeks before the emergence of mosquitoes, which are believed to be the main carrier of West Nile.

Arkansas health department officials have detected the virus in a horse. And two other cases were found in Louisiana.

This summer is the third West Nile virus season, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials said they hope awareness of the disease will cause the case numbers among animals and humans to decrease.

At the same time, conservationists are preparing for the worst.

Marge Gibson, executive director of the Raptor Education Group in Antigo, inoculated 20 of the group's birds last week at $100 each with a West Nile vaccine for horses. This week, she will begin placing mosquito netting throughout the center, which rehabilitates birds.

"We are preparing for the worst. It was bad last year and we are concerned it's going to be even worse. There is a horse already with the disease in Minnesota. This is not a good sign," she said.

West Nile is primarily a bird disease that spreads to humans and other animals through the bite of an infected mosquito.

Wausau Bird Club members have seen fewer birds during recent weeks. The club's annual bird count, which hasn't been 100 percent tallied, is looking to be lower than in other years, but member Lynn Ott said that could be attributed to fewer people counting the various species than in past years.

The disease, which is native to parts of Africa and Europe, appeared for the first time in the United States in 1999 in the New York area. It reached Wisconsin in 2001.

Last year in Wisconsin, more than 100 bird species were infected. West Nile killed three people in the state, and 52 people were diagnosed with the virus. Nationwide, 284 people died in 46 states, and 4,156 people were infected. Only Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon did not have any cases.

The Wisconsin DNR will collect dead birds from each county to monitor the severity of the disease, said Kerry Beheler, wildlife health specialist.

The Marshfield Medical Research Foundation will test crows, blue jays and ravens for the virus. The majority of the testing will be done at one of the foundation's labs in Marshfield, Beheler said.

North central Wisconsin DNR officials also will monitor the severity of mosquito activity because the virus is thought to be mosquito-borne, she said.