Jasper County Health Department has received a Vector Surveillance grant for 2013. Illinois Department Public Health requires local health departments to submit at least 3 "eligible" birds for testing. Dead birds are important indicators for early West Nile Virus (WNV) activity.
All perching birds such as the crow, bluejay, grackle, starling, sparrows, finches, robin, cardinal, flycathers, swallows, catbird, mockingbird, warblers, and wrens will be accepted for testing.
Birds should be believed dead less than 48 hours wiht no signs of decomposing (strong odor present), dried/deflated eyes, maggots present or bloated with decompoistion gasses). Birds should have no obvious cause of death such as being found crushed in a roadway or being killed by gunshot.
Monday through Friday mornings, give us a call at 783-5206 to report the bird and request permission to submit it for testing. We can come to your yard and pick it up for you.
However, if you can't reach us, (evenings and weekends) please follow instructions below
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Use rubber gloves when picking up a dead bird or sick bird. If you don't have gloves, insert your hand into a plastic bag and use it like a glove. Be sure to wash your hands throughly when you are done.
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Place bird in a heavy bag and seal. Then place it in another bag and seal it. The dead bird should be chilled on cool packs or refrigerated as soon as you find it.
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Give us a call as soon as you can - 783-5206
We will ship the bird to the state lab where it will be tested for WNV. Birds will be accepted through October 15, 2013.
Please contact the Jasper County Health Department, environmental division at 783-5206 if you find an "eligible bird" with no obvious cause of death. Thank you for your help.