Virus found in bird

When Brenda Chandler saw a dead crow near her neighbor’s backyard two weeks ago, she noticed that it looked as though it were asleep.

The Eastside Costa Mesa resident said she found the crow’s peaceful appearance alarming; it showed no signs of distress. It hadn’t been in a fight or attacked by a cat — but something killed it.

A week later, an investigation by Orange County Vector Control revealed the bird was infected with West Nile Virus.

“It bothers me. You never think it’s going to get to you, get that close,” Chandler said.

The disease, which was first found on United States soil in 1999, is spread by mosquitoes that have sucked the blood of infected birds, according to vector control.

When mosquitoes carrying it bite humans, those humans become susceptible.

Chandler said there is something about her blood that suits the palates of the mosquitoes in her area, and that she is bitten frequently. She wears long sleeves, long pants and sprays herself with bug repellent regularly to protect herself.

The prevalence of the disease is growing exponentially in the area, according to vector control spokesman Michael Hearst, who is concerned about the statistics.

“We’ve gotten more dead birds that died of West Nile Virus this year then we have had in all previous years combined,” Hearst said.

Two people have died of the disease so far in Orange County and 51 others have been infected, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. None of the reported cases have been in Costa Mesa or Newport Beach.

The vast majority of people are immune to the disease, and those who do get it usually only experience mild flu symptoms, but in rare cases it can cause high fever, paralysis and even death.

Chandler and neighbor Sharon Kelly, whose backyard the dead bird was found in, have been using the neighborhood watch phone list to notify neighbors of the incident.

“If you get one, who’s to say how many more there might be?” Kelly said. “So my concern is to let people around the neighborhood know this has happened.”

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.