DHEC Looking for Residents to Turn in Dead Birds to track West Nile
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COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Now that Spring is here, State Health leaders are looking at the West Nile Virus.
Officials at the Department of Health and Environmental Control want your help tracking the virus.
DHEC officials say now through the end of November, if you find any dead Blue Jays, Crows, House Finches or House Sparrows, submit them to the department for testing.
According to health officials, when residents submit birds other than crows, blue jays, house finches, and house sparrows, DHEC will decide whether or not to test those birds on a case-by-case basis.
- Do not touch a bird (dead or alive) with bare hands:
- Use gloves, or;
- Pick the bird up with doubled, clear plastic bags that have been turned inside out (covering your hand). Invert the bag over the bird (uncovering your hand) and seal the bird in the doubled plastic bags.
- Keep the bagged bird cool until it can be placed on ice or in a refrigerator. If the bird carcass cannot be delivered to DHEC within 24-36 hours of collection, freeze it until delivery or shipment.
- Download and complete the DHEC Dead Bird Submission and Reporting Sheet for West Nile virus and submit it, along with the dead bird, to your local DHEC office.
DHEC is currently accepting bird submissions through Nov. 30, 2018. Instructions on how to safely pick up and transport a bird to the closest DHEC Environmental Affairs office are available online at scdhec.gov/birdtesting. Birds can also be taken to the SC DHEC Public Health Laboratory located at 8231 Parklane Rd, Columbia, SC 29223. For more information, call the Medical Entomology Laboratory at (803) 896-3802.
