2011 Annual Report - Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control ...

SurveillanceDead birdsThe dead bird surveillance program was established in 2000 by the California Departmentof Public Health (CDPH) in collaboration with local agencies. Bird mortality can be a sensitiveindicator of West Nile virus activity. Dead birds are reported by the public to the WNVhotline (1-877-WNV BIRD, or online at http://westnile.ca.gov), and are then collected andidentified by the local agencies. Our technicians try to collect every dead bird reported to ourDistrict. Samples are collected from suitable specimens and tested for the presence of St. LouisEncephalitis (SLE), Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WEE), and West Nile (WN) viruses byTaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In addition, carcasses that test negativeare submitted to CAHFSL (California Animal Health and Safety Laboratory) at the Universityof California, Davis campus, where necropsies are performed and additional tissue samplesare then tested for the presence of West Nile virus at the Center for Vectorborne Diseases(CVEC) laboratory. Often the first indication of virus activity in a certain area comes fromreported dead birds, therefore this program is a very important component of our laboratory’ssurveillance program because it helps the District better allocate resources and focus on areaswhere virus activity has been detected.In 2011, a total of 1,212 dead birds were reported to the WNV hotline (1,050 from SacramentoCounty and 162 from Yolo County). After initial screening by staff at the California Departmentof Public Health, a total of 520 dead bird reports were submitted to the District and techniciansattempted to pick up and evaluate all of them for testing. 398 dead birds were tested and 172were found positive for WNV (163 from Sacramento County and 9 from Yolo County). Mostof the positive dead birds were American Crows and Western Scrub Jays, followed by YellowbilledMagpies and House Finches.29.88%+WNv Dead Birds6.71% 5.18% 3.66% 3.05%2.74%+WNv Dead Birds6.71% 5.18% 3.66% 3.05%2.74%District staff aging and banding a bird as part of thewild bird surveillance program.0.61%0.61%0.30%0.30%0.61%0.30%0.61%0.30%0.30%0.30% 0.30%0.30% 0.30%0.30% 0.30%0.30%0.30%0.30%29.88%45.43%45.43%American Crow Western Scrub Jay Yellow-Billed Magpie House FinchAmerican Robin House Sparrow Northern Mockingbird White Crowned SparrowAmerican Crow Western Scrub Jay Yellow-Billed Magpie House FinchCooper's Hawk California Towhee Lesser Goldfinch Anna's HummingbirdAmerican Robin House Sparrow Northern Mockingbird White Crowned SparrowBlack-Crowned Night Cooper's Heron Hawk European Starling California Towhee Western Lesser Meadowlark Goldfinch White Anna's Breated Hummingbird NuthatchBlack-Crowned Night Heron European Starling Western Meadowlark White Breated Nuthatch2011 Annual Report13