State program set
to prevent West Nile
State health and agriculture officials, working to keep Hawaii off a growing list of states with human cases of West Nile virus, have begun a new campaign to educate and seek help from the public.
An informational brochure on West Nile virus has been distributed statewide to pet stores, veterinarians, bird clubs and state health offices and can be seen on the Department of Health Web site at www.hawaii.gov/doh.
It contains information on eliminating mosquitoes and instructions for collection of dead birds that might be the first clue to the virus arriving in Hawaii.
Primarily a wild-bird disease transmitted by mosquitoes, the virus has affected people in 37 states but has not reached Hawaii.
Humans can get the virus if they are bitten by a mosquito that has bitten an infected bird. However, the virus cannot be passed from one person to another.
The state Department of Agriculture has tightened rules on the importation of birds, requiring two import permits, inspections upon entry and pre-shipment quarantine procedures in some cases, said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Board of Agriculture chairwoman.
An embargo that prevents mailing birds through the U.S. Postal Service also remains in effect, she said.
For more information about bird import requirements, call 837-8092, the Agriculture Department's Import & Compliance Section at Honolulu Airport.
The disease causes flulike symptoms in about 20 percent of people infected. Fewer than 1 percent of those infected will have a severe and sometimes fatal inflammation of the brain called West Nile encephalitis.
For more information on the virus, see www.state.hi.us/ doh/wnv.
