2 BIRDS IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY AND ANOTHER 2 IN MONTEREY COUNTY HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR WEST NILE VIRUS. THE 4 BIRDS WERE: A SPARROW (FOUND TUESDAY IN THE BOLSA KNOLLS AREA OF SALINAS); A HAWK (FOUND WEDNESDAY NEAR CASTROVILLE; A GREAT-HORNED OWL FOUND NEAR THE SUMMIT OF HIGHWAY 17; AND AN AMERICAN CROW WAS FOUND IN THE LIVE OAK AREA OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY.
WEST NILE VIRUS IS TRANSMITTED BY MOSQUITOES. ELDERLY AND YOUNG PEOPLE AS WELL AS THOSE WITH COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS RISK BECOMING ILL, OR EVEN IN SOME CASES, DYING. SEVERE SYMPTOMS CAN INCLUDE LOSS OF VISION, DISORIENTATION, CONVULSIONS, AND TREMORS; WHERE MILDER CASES MAY ONLY INCLUDE, A SKIN RASH ON THE CHEST, STOMACH AND BACK….NAUSEA…OR SWOLLEN LYMPH GLANDS.
