Second crow found with West Nile virus

Mercer County authorities said yesterday they found a second crow infected with West Nile Encephalitis within a mile of the College of New Jersey campus.

The crow's body was found in Ewing Township about two weeks ago and taken to a lab for analysis, according to College of New Jersey Associate Vice President of College Relations Jessie Rosenblum.

Just two weeks prior to that, a Princeton University employee discovered an infected crow near Murray-Dodge Hall, prompting the Mercer County Mosquito Control Division to begin spraying parts of campus.

"The Mercer County Mosquito Control Division is responsible for spraying. We have told them some areas that we are concerned with and they have included those areas in their weekly spraying," said Donald Robassor of University Environmental Health and Safety.

He added that the spraying occurs "mostly in the low lying areas."

University authorities are continuing to monitor the situation, but there are no plans for further action other than notifying students of the potential encephalitis risk, University spokeswoman Marilyn Marks said.

"It's something the University is watching," she said. "At this point no activities need to be changed or curtailed."

College of New Jersey administrators said they also were not planning on rescheduling any activities because of the second infected crow. Despite the new discoveries, the danger posed by West Nile Encephalitis is still minimal, Robassor said.

The virus is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito and is not transmitted by bird-to-human contact, he said. "There have been mosquito pools tested from this area and they have never found any infected mosquitoes," he said.

West Nile Encephalitis can be life-threatening to children and the elderly. But college students, typically with stronger immune systems, are not usually put at serious risk by the disease. Even when infected, they demonstrate only flu-like symptoms.

University officials say even though there is no immediate danger indicated by the discovery of the infected crows, students should consider taking some basic precautions.

The Princeton Regional Health Commission recommends that "if students go out at dusk or dawn, which is the most active time for mosquitoes, they should try to cover up," Hinshillwood said. "With the weather getting cooler, wearing long sleeves and long pants is more practical."

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The threat of infection will begin to diminish as the weather gets colder, Hinshillwood said. "General concern about the West Nile Virus is legitimate because there have been cases north of here, but there is not any extreme concern," he said.