Virus Attacks Birds

Sun., Jan. 23, 2000

Birdwatching

Recent crow die-offs suggest the West Nile virus, which emerged in New York in late August, could be more deadly to North American bird species than to species in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, where the virus is normally found, a USGS scientist reports.

Dr. Robert G. McLean, director of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis., briefed a Congressional committee recently.

Detection of the virus in birds and other animal species provides critical information to public health agencies tracking the infection in people, he said.

“The high mortality in crows and other bird species is unusual for these viruses,” McLean said. “This suggests that this virus is more virulent to our native birds or it may represent a new, more virulent strain.”

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