Dead Birds

Two dead crows found in Westminster have tested positive for the West Nile virus, bringing to 10 the number of infected birds found in Carroll this summer, county health officials said yesterday. Larry L. Leitch, the county health officer, said these were the first positive results from birds found within the city limits of Westminster, one from Ridge Road and one from Westmoreland Street, although there had been two others in the 21158 ZIP code to the west. Once a ZIP code has had two such results, no more birds are needed for testing - although reports of dead birds will be taken to monitor the risk of infection to humans, Leitch said.

A woman being sought by police for questioning in the deaths of 40 animals found at a Columbia townhouse Monday was a former employee of the National Aquarium in Baltimore . A letter addressed from Howard County police to Beth Lindenau was left at the residence where police removed the dead animals, including some inside of a freezer. Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn would not confirm the woman's name but said it is police policy to leave addressed letters at homes to inform residents if animals have been impounded.

Two dead crows found a few miles from each other last week in Baltimore and Howard counties were infected with West Nile virus, the first appearances of the disease in Maryland this year, state officials said yesterday. In response, the state Department of Agriculture announced it would spray for mosquitoes, which are thought to carry the virus, between 7 p.m. today and 6 a.m. tomorrow in the area where the dead birds were found. The insecticide Permethrin will be sprayed from trucks traveling local streets within two miles of the intersection of U.S. 29 and Route 32 in Columbia and the U.S. 1 and Interstate 95 corridor in portions of Baltimore and Howard counties.

When the term "dead fish" became a top Google search Wednesday, soaring past the likes of Lindsay Lohan and leaving Justin Bieber in its scaly wake, it looked as if the end were near. That's what everyone was saying, anyway. After millions of tiny fish went belly up in the Chesapeake Bay this week, the populace immediately dismissed the official scientific explanation (the water was just too darn cold). What made more sense, they reasoned? The approaching apocalypse. Of course.

BOSTON -- It is rare, but potentially deadly. It is exotic, yet spread through one of the most common summertime irritants: the mosquito. And now, it is here. The West Nile virus, which can cause fatal encephalitis, was found in two dead crows here last week, making the area the latest outpost in its unsettling spread. While it has yet to claim human victims in the Boston area, experts say that more summer-like conditions could bring an increase in mosquitoes -- spreading the deadly virus.

Maryland health officials say they may stop testing dead birds for the West Nile virus this year because of federal budget cuts and the knowledge that last year the disease spread to every county but one. Last year, the state lab tested 1,650 dead birds for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, and found it in 604. But "there won't be enough money to do everything we did last year," J.B. Hanson, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,...

Two crows found in county infected with West Nile virus Two dead crows found in Carroll County have tested positive for West Nile virus, county Health Department officials announced yesterday. The birds, one found in Sykesville and one in Westminster, are the second and third to test positive in the county this year. Health officials announced this week that a blue jay found in Sykesville had tested positive for the virus. The dead birds represent no immediate public health concern, officials said, but county residents should eliminate standing water sources that attract mosquitoes, which feed on the dead birds and can transmit the disease to humans.

NEW YORK -- In a new effort to identify the mosquito-borne disease that has killed three people in New York City, health officials sent dozens of staff members through city streets yesterday to retrieve dead birds for testing.The search for dead birds comes one day after experts discovered that a disease they believed to be St. Louis encephalitis -- which killed dozens of birds at the Bronx Zoo and has infected at least 14 people in New York City and four in Westchester County -- may be the rare West Nile virus, which has not been diagnosed in the Western Hemisphere, government scientists said.

DEAD BIRDS found with West Nile virus in the Baltimore area this year should cause concern, but not alarm. Monitoring for the mosquito-borne virus - which is very rarely fatal to humans - alerts health officials to its presence and the possibility of human infection. It makes physicians more aware in diagnosing and treating patients stricken with encephalitis, meningitis and related neurological diseases. This awareness will help to track and detect outbreaks of the virus that is spreading in the United States, found by testing dead birds such as crows.

The rain of dead birds in two Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods has grown so heavy that city health officials have decided to stop collecting and testing them for the West Nile virus. City workers have collected hundreds of dead birds thought to be infected with the disease. Health officials are asking residents in the 21206 and 21214 ZIP codes to dispose of dead birds so that the city can focus on counting mosquitoes in those areas. Mosquitoes spread the virus. If the counts get high enough, the city will begin spraying insecticides to reduce the threat to human health.

LONDON -- British authorities confirmed yesterday that an outbreak of bird flu discovered among turkeys at a poultry farm in eastern Britain had been caused by the deadly A(H5N1) strain, which has killed humans in other parts of the world. The disease has killed 2,500 turkeys near Lowestoft since Thursday, making it the biggest outbreak of the strain reported in Britain since concern about its global spread began to take root in 2003. An additional 160,000 birds will be culled to prevent the disease from spreading to other locations, government officials said.

An outbreak of bird flu among migrating geese in western China has opened a potential pathway for the disease to spread into India and Europe, according to studies published online yesterday by the journals Science and Nature. The sick birds were first detected April 30 at Qinghai Lake, a breeding hub for bar-headed geese that migrate to Siberia, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand and over the Himalayas into India - a possible jumping off point for transmission of the virus into Europe. The movement of the H5N1 avian virus beyond its current center in East and Southeast Asia would pose a threat to poultry industries and increase the risk of more human infections.

On a cool autumn morning in 1965, a Hopkins undergrad named Hank Kaestner picked his way toward the tower on Television Hill. His undertaking was the snatching of corpses, and he knew that this was the place he would find them. He was not disappointed. Spread before Hank and his 12-year-old brother, Peter, was a field of death and - Hank could not help marveling - resplendence. Hundreds of migratory birds lay dead everywhere around them, the victims, it must have seemed, of a macabre cosmic joke.

HONG KONG - A dead peregrine falcon found near two chicken farms here had the avian influenza virus, agricultural officials said yesterday. The falcon is the first sign that the disease spreading in chicken flocks in Vietnam, South Korea and Japan might also be present in China. Hong Kong said it would respond by stepping up the monitoring of chicken farms for the disease, with inspections continuing through the Chinese New Year beginning today. World Health Organization officials have been very alarmed about the spread of the influenza virus, the A(H5N1)

Maryland health officials say they may stop testing dead birds for the West Nile virus this year because of federal budget cuts and the knowledge that last year the disease spread to every county but one. Last year, the state lab tested 1,650 dead birds for the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, and found it in 604. But "there won't be enough money to do everything we did last year," J.B. Hanson, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,...

Maryland agricultural and environmental officials, along with executives from one of the nation's largest egg producers, are working to salvage three huge chicken sheds in Cecil County where heavy snow caused ceilings to collapse Monday, trapping 300,000 egg-laying hens in their cages. Many hens were crushed, company officials said, when ceiling trusses collapsed. Others might have died when automated feeding and watering systems failed at the egg farm near Cecilton. Heating systems in the buildings apparently are operating, roofs are intact and the birds have not been exposed to the elements, said Greg Clanton, vice-president of ISE America, a Japanese company that owns the buildings and has its Maryland headquarters in Galena.

Maryland agricultural and environmental officials, along with executives from one of the nation's largest egg producers, are working to salvage three huge chicken sheds in Cecil County where heavy snow caused ceilings to collapse Monday, trapping 300,000 egg-laying hens in their cages. Many hens were crushed, company officials said, when ceiling trusses collapsed. Others might have died when automated feeding and watering systems failed at the egg farm near Cecilton. Heating systems in the buildings apparently are operating, roofs are intact and the birds have not been exposed to the elements, said Greg Clanton, vice-president of ISE America, a Japanese company that owns the buildings and has its Maryland headquarters in Galena.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources wildlife specialists cautioned songbird lovers yesterday to keep bird feeders clean, after reports of isolated outbreaks of disease among some finches and sparrows.Edith Thompson, DNR urban wildlife biologist, said sick or dead songbirds have been spotted this spring around the state, although most reports have come from the Baltimore-Washington area."We've had more reports than normal," Ms. Thompson said, adding that there is no link between the diseased songbirds and the avian cholera that killed more than 35,000 waterfowl this winter on and around the Chesapeake Bay.Ms.

Two dead crows found in Westminster have tested positive for the West Nile virus, bringing to 10 the number of infected birds found in Carroll this summer, county health officials said yesterday. Larry L. Leitch, the county health officer, said these were the first positive results from birds found within the city limits of Westminster, one from Ridge Road and one from Westmoreland Street, although there had been two others in the 21158 ZIP code to the west. Once a ZIP code has had two such results, no more birds are needed for testing - although reports of dead birds will be taken to monitor the risk of infection to humans, Leitch said.

Health Department changes its policy on testing dead birds The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has changed its policy on testing birds that may have died from West Nile virus. Only a small number of dead birds need to be tested to track the virus throughout the state. Although the birds may no longer be picked up for testing, residents are urged to continue to assist the state with its surveillance program by reporting dead birds. That will help officials monitor for any clusters of dead birds.