West Nile discovered in C.V.

The West Nile virus made its way to La Crescenta this week in the first confirmed case for the year in the Foothills.

A crow that dropped out of the sky into the driveway of Crescenta Valley Town Council Mayor Grace Andrus’ home the evening of June 26 was infected with the disease, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. Andrus’ 15-year-old son Danny saw the bird fall and was “fascinated” by the dead animal, Andrus said. Danny retrieved gloves and a shovel to “bag the bird.” He then covered the bag with a crate so no other animals would disturb it, while his mom went online to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Internet website and reported the incident. The CDC picked up the bird the next morning for testing.

“It was really weird,” Andrus said of the incident. The bird was bleeding from its mouth, apparently from the fall, but had no other visible reason for dropping or dying. “I thought of the bird flu, but I didn’t even think it could have the West Nile virus,” she said. “I mean, I hadn’t heard anything lately about West Nile around here, I thought [the virus] wasn’t in my backyard.”

On Monday, Andrus received confirmation of the cause of the bird’s demise.

Although this was the first reported case of West Nile virus in Crescenta Valley, it’s one of several birds that has tested positive in the county since April, according to the Los Angeles County Public Health website.

The West Nile virus is a viral disease that survives in birds and is transmitted by mosquitoes that feed on the infected birds. Humans and other mammals can contract the virus by being bitten by an infected mosquito. The virus causes inflammation of tissues surrounding the central nervous system.

The first documented case of West Nile virus in the United States was in 1999 in New York. Prior to that, the virus was found in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. In 2006, there were 4,269 human cases reported in the United States, according to Los Angeles County Public Health’s website. Of that, 278 cases were reported in California.