Ridecamp: [RC] WNV Vaccine--was--Pigeon Disease!

Hi Truman:
You could be right.  We all, of course, hope that you are not.  

I know that it's the birds who spread the disease over distance, that's why they're checking dead birds for infection.  In fact here's a current map that illustrates where infected birds have been found to date. 
Find it here:

http://cindi.usgs.gov/hazard/event/west_nile/usa_avian_jun_17.html

There are, of course, many many bird migratory patterns that are north/south.

Florida--the entire eastern seaboard really--- was just a giant lab petri dish waiting to happen.  You have all those different species of NE birds flying south for the winter right over Florida or in some cases wintering in Florida and all those thirsty mosquitos all over Florida lying in wait.  
California's conditions are quite different (we just don't have as many skeeters as you guys do), but you're right we are most likely going to see some cases.  As many as you?  We hope not. 

Are there really many birds who migrate East to West over as vast distances as North/South migrations???
I'd love to know more about this.  What birds from where to where?  Do you know?  Just to help us over here in So. Cal judge the risk.
I do know that California has a very active program to check dead birds for WNV.
I don't want to medicate my horse needlessly, but I don't want to get caught with my pants around my ankles either.
Thanks, Truman.
Kath


Truman said:

The reason they are giving for it moving so fast has more to do with bird migration than mosquito population. You do need misquitos to vector it but it is the birds that carry it. It is carried by birds and the reason it got here so fast is FL is on the east coast flyway for bird migration. There is also a big migration path birds follow over CA so I would expect it could happen there as easy as it happened here.