COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's top health agency is making an unusual request for the upcoming warm weather months in hopes of tracking a serious illness.
Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is asking residents to submit certain species of dead birds -- specifically crows, blue jays, house finches, and house sparrows -- that appear not to have been injured and are not decayed in order that they undergo laboratory testing.
This "dead bird surveillance program" allows DHEC to better understand where and when there is an increase in West Nile Virus activity and take measures to stop the spread of the virus.
West Nile is typically spread to human and animal populations by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes become infected after feeding on infected birds that carry the virus in their blood. After one or two weeks, infected mosquitoes can transmit the virus to humans and other animals.
Knowing where the virus is through the dead birds can allow DHEC to guide local mosquito control programs to take action to protect residents. DHEC’s Mosquito-Borne Disease Viewer map shows current and historic county-level information for identified non-human instances of West Nile Virus.
Beginning March 15, dead birds can be submitted to DHEC's local environmental affairs offices. Residents should follow these instructions for collecting and submitting dead birds:
- Don’t touch a bird, dead or alive, with bare hands. Use gloves or pick up the bird with doubled, plastic bags.
- Keep the bagged bird cool until it can be placed on ice. If the bird carcass can’t be delivered to DHEC within 36-hours of collection, place it on ice in a cooler, but do not allow water into the bags. Please do not refrigerate or freeze the carcass where food is stored.
- Download and complete the dead bird submission and reporting sheet for West Nile Virus and take the sheet and dead bird to a local DHEC environmental affairs office during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday). See our interactive map of available offices for drop-off.
For more information, including details on locating a local DHEC office for submitting deceased birds, visit scdhec.gov/birdtesting or contact the medical entomology laboratory at 803-896-3802 or vector@dhec.sc.gov.