COLUMBUS, OH -- West Nile virus is the presumed cause of death for hundreds of owls, hawks and other birds of prey in Ohio this year, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Test results issued by the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin, supported similar findings by pathologists at the Ohio Department of Agriculture that indicated some raptors found sick or dead in Ohio during July and August suffered from West Nile virus.
The NWHC labeled their results as "presumptive" because active virus was found in both hawks, but in only two of the five great-horned owls. However, findings did not suggest any other cause of death for the birds submitted. NWHC pathologists now believe that West Nile virus may be transitory in the blood of some birds and may dissipate by the time infection has resulted in death.
According to ODNR estimates, several thousand raptors in Ohio have been affected by the virus, which is carried by mosquitoes. Not all the infected birds died; many survived the disease on their own and some are recovering at raptor rehabilitation centers around the state.
Ohio appeared to be at the center of an unprecedented raptor die-off that swept through the Midwest in late summer. While birds in other states were also affected, Ohio's case count was the highest, ODNR officials said.
Reports of dead and ill birds have diminished significantly in recent weeks and wildlife biologists believe the disease is at the end of its run for this year.
Temperatures are cooling and we've already had frost in much of the state, killing off the mosquitoes that carry the virus, said Pat Ruble, wildlife administrator at ODNR.
Ruble added that hunters now in the field need not fear contracting West Nile virus through handling or eating waterfowl or other wild birds. However, he cautioned hunters to always exercise the following practices when handling any wild game: