C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr. P.H., said today. A crow collected in Yorktown, Westchester County on May 10 was infected with the mosquito-borne virus, according to results from the State Health Department's Wadsworth Center laboratories. State health officials say the finding of an infected bird is not unexpected and does not indicate an imminent human health risk.
Crows are more likely than birds of other species to die if they are infected with West Nile virus.
Data collected in New York during the past two years indicate that West Nile virus primarily circulates between birds and mosquitoes this early in the season. Infected mosquitoes bite birds, which subsequently transmit the infection to other mosquitoes, as the cycle continues. Human health risk from West Nile virus only occurs when the amount of virus intensifies in a particular location. Therefore, all New Yorkers are urged to help interrupt the infection cycle by taking steps to reduce areas of standing water around their properties where mosquitoes can breed. The State's West Nile Virus Response Plan also advises localities to consider using larvacides to eradicate mosquitoes in the aquatic stage before they become biting adults.