West Nile Surveillance in Minnesota
Report a Dead Bird
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends
dead bird surveillance as a component of a West Nile
virus surveillance program. From May through September, the Metropolitan
Mosquito Control District (MMCD) in collaboration with Minnesota Department of
Health (MDH) conducts surveillance for WNV in crows, blue jays, hawks, and owls.
MMCD collects all reports of dead birds. However, only birds found in the counties that
comprise the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott,
Washington) will be tested for West Nile Virus:
Not all birds will be selected for sampling.
Only birds that have died within 48 hours of discovery will be
considered. Birds that have been
collected in plastic bags and frozen are better candidates for testing. Wear impervious gloves when handling sick or
dead birds. If you have no gloves, insert your hand into a clean plastic bag,
pick up the bird with the bagged hand, invert the bag over the bird and seal
the bag. Store the bird in a freezer
until you are contacted by MMCD.
Use the form below or call the MMCD at: 651-645-9149 to report a
dead bird. MMCD will collect samples from suitable specimens. Birds found dead
must be in good postmortem condition. Indicators of suitable postmortem
condition include no scavenging to the carcass, an intact body cavity, no maggot infestation or strong odor to the carcass. Birds
that fit this description should be bagged and frozen as described above.
Reports of all dead birds will be accepted, but Crows, Blue Jays, and
Raptors will receive priority status for collection and testing.
Please complete all fields of the report
form (* fields are required)
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