WEST NILE VIRUS STILL AROUND - WV Can Now Do Animal Testing

(07/06/2005)
West Nile Virus is still loitering.

Two state agencies are teaming up to track the spread of the West Nile Virus in West Virginia.

The Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health Office of Laboratory Services will collect and test samples collected from across the state.

The samples will now be tested in West Virginia.

Previously, samples were shipped to a US Department of Agriculture laboratory in Iowa for analysis.

Officials say it will speed up the process and help horse owners keep their at-risk animals healthy through vaccinations.

This is in addition to ongoing efforts to test birds that may have died from the disease.

West Nile is spread through the bites of mosquitoes.

The disease can affect humans, but is much more common in birds and horses.

At least one, possibly two people, have died from the virus in WV.