Following the discovery of West Nile Virus (WNV) in seven crows in the eastern part of Nassau County, the county is continuing efforts to control the growth of mosquito larvae, but has not scheduled aerial spraying, Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta announced this week.

The announcement was made Tuesday, after the New York State Department of Health confirmed evidence of the virus in birds found in East Massapequa, Plainview, Farmingdale, Wantagh and Seaford.

This week's findings brings the total number of infected birds found this summer in Nassau County to 17; in Suffolk, 42 have been found, while in New York City, the total is 51. After 21 weeks of monitoring, no mosquitoes tested in Nassau County have turned up positive, however, according to Gulotta. "In recognition that birds can fly long distances and as part of our strategic mosquito control program, additional mosquito traps have been set at the site where all of the dead birds have been found to determine whether infected mosquitoes are in the area," he said. "If infected mosquitoes are found in the area, a value judgment will be made to determine if limited spraying is required."

Nor have there been any human cases of WNV in the county this summer, as the disease has remained confined to birds. Cynthia Brown, a spokesperson for the Nassau County Health Department, said one theory for this lies in the abundance of birds this season has seen. The birds have thrived due to high amounts of wet weather, which has made the drinking water they need to survive readily available. And, mosquitoes prefer to bite birds rather than people, Brown noted.

"The mosquitoes bite the birds. Then the mosquitoes would bite other birds, which they prefer to people, as a matter of fact. This has been a very good season, weatherwise for birds, so there are lots of birds around, and the mosquitoes prefer to bite the birds, since they are available," she said. Brown stressed that the disease is only spread by mosquitoes, meaning that birds cannot infect other birds, or humans.

The county's monitoring program has consisted of mosquito testing in 200 miles of fresh water streams, 70,000 street basins, 650 storm drains and 50 ponds throughout Nassau. The county has also responded to close to 8,000 citizen inquiries and complaints of possible mosquito breeding sites. Routine larvae control, which consists of the application of a larvae growth inhibitor, has been ongoing.

A key element of the county's mosquito control program has been promoting public awareness about the need to prevent the spread of mosquitoes in the home by removing standing water, which the insects use as breeding sites. This is especially important, according to Brown, because household mosquitoes, which are the carriers of WNV, travel less than 200 feet from their original breeding ground to find a victim. The county has distributed more than 200,000 copies of its 2000 Mosquito Control Program brochure.

Although Health Department officials are not certain why infected birds have been found, but not infected mosquitoes, Brown speculated that this may be due to vigilant efforts to control the breeding of mosquitoes, both by the agency and residents.

"I'd like to think that part of it is definitely due to the cooperation of our residents who have tried very hard to remove standing water, which is the breeding site," she said.

"When we do get reports of infected birds, then we adjust our traps and do more mosquito trapping in the sites where the birds were found. And in those areas, not only are there no positive mosquitoes, to date, but also the counts are relatively low," Brown added. "So we'd like to think that our 80-plus years of mosquito control have certainly kicked in, as well as the cooperation of residents. We are emphasizing over and over again, to please remove standing water, from old tires, garbage cans, the tops of toys, swimming pool covers, grill covers...water can accumulate, especially with all this rain."

Brown urged residents to continue to exercise caution, as August and September are high risk months for the mosquito-borne virus. "We're just entering the height of the season, so to speak," she said, noting that last year, all six people who contracted the disease in Nassau County were bitten in August.

"It's August-September that really is the height of the season, in the sense that there are more and more mosquitoes out there," she added, "So that's why it is very important to keep the larvaciding and the support...So we're reaching out now, and saying, 'Could you please remember to empty your stagnant water, wherever you find it.'"

Residents can call the county's West Nile Virus Information Hotline at 571-2500 for the most up-to-date WNV information. Those who wish to report a dead bird or mosquito problem, or obtain a mosquito control brochure, may call 571-8707, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.