Virus not yet in state

West Nile tests prove negative

? Though many expect the West Nile virus to eventually reach Kansas, there are no signs yet that it has arrived. But entomologists and state wildlife officials are on the lookout anyway.

Wildlife workers have trapped about 100 crows in west Wichita over the past several days and have drawn their blood to test for West Nile.

Crows are susceptible to the virus, which was first detected in the United States in 1999 in birds at the Bronx Zoo. It has been spreading westward since, as far as Missouri.

“West Nile virus will be here next year if not this year,” said Charlie Cope of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Mosquitoes that feed on infected birds can transmit the virus to other birds, animals or humans. If bitten by an infected mosquito, the majority of people do not get sick. But the elderly and those with weak immune systems can become ill and show flu-like symptoms. Several people have died of the virus, for which there is no treatment.

The monitoring project is an effort by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kansas State University and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Besides drawing blood from the crows, workers have placed bands on the birds to track them. If banded crows are found dead of the virus somewhere else, scientists will know they picked it up somewhere between Wichita and that location, said Tom Janousek, an independent entomologist from Omaha, Neb., who is heading up the project.