End of West Nile Surveillance in Ontario Birds
The Government of Ontario has stopped funding surveillance for West Nile virus in dead birds. Since the virus first arrived in the province in 2002, large numbers of dead birds from across Ontario were tested for West Nile virus every year to monitor the distribution of the disease. Birds were tested because finding the virus in certain species is a good indicator of West Nile activity, and affected birds are found well before disease occurs in people or horses every year.
Will this have any negative effects? Probably not. Bird surveillance was very important when West Nile virus was new to the province, to see where it was, how it spread and when it occurred in different regions. Since the virus has been around for many years now and the patterns of disease in birds don't seem to be changing, bird surveillance results likely wouldn't change much, and therefore wouldn't impact the provincial government's recommendations (e.g. wearing insect repellent) and preventative measures (e.g. larvicidal treatment of mosquito breeding grounds). In a perfect world, surveillance would continue because you never know for certain what you are going to find, and active surveillance networks are useful for identifying new problems (e.g. new diseases). However, at this point the benefits are likely limited, which makes it difficult to justify the cost of such a program.
If you are in a region where West Nile virus has been found in the past, assume that it's going to be back again this year, at about the same level and around the same time of year. Take precautions to reduce mosquito exposure. For more information, see our previous post and video about "Preventing West Nile Virus Infection" and our West Nile virus archives.
