Dorothy Westerman
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 07/05) - Although West Nile virus has been reported across Western Canada, there is no trace of the deadly disease in the NWT, according to a government biologist.

"We don't have any West Nile virus. We have sent bird carcasses to a wildlife lab in Saskatoon for testing over the summer and there have been no positive cases in these birds," said Dean Cluff a biologist with Environment and Natural Resources.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, seven dead birds, three from Yellowknife, were tested this summer for West Nile, with no positive results.

"If there was any West Nile virus, it is usually in August that it starts showing up in birds and humans," Cluff said.

West Nile is spread by the culex tarsalis mosquito, which passes the disease from infected birds to humans. The mosquito exists in the NWT in only small numbers, primarily near sewage lagoons or near nutrient-rich soils.

Cluff could not say with complete certainty whether it is just a matter of time before the virus reaches the NWT.

"It could be but then it could be slower here. There are some of the culex tarsalis mosquitoes here, but they are not very abundant," he said.

"Here in the NWT, our summers are short and it might take a certain amount of time to replicate and become abundant in the population," Cluff said.

"The threat for people is non-existent, as far as we can tell," he added.

As of August 20, 51 human cases of West Nile virus were reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Two of those were in Alberta and eight in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Cluff said if anyone finds a dead raven, magpie or jay, they should call the department at 873-7181 and the bird will be picked up.

Brett Elkin, wildlife disease contaminants specialist with the department, said mosquito traps are set in various locations throughout the NWT, including Yellowknife.

"While West Nile experts figure it is not going to move this far North, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking at it," he said.

"We've been actively pursuing wild bird surveillance as well as the mosquitoes," Elkin said.

The majority of the offending mosquitoes appear to stop at about the boreal forest parklands interface, he noted.

Small numbers of culex tarsalis breed have been found in Yellowknife, and testing was extended this year to the Sahtu and Beaufort Delta.

Mosquito stations are set up in Fort Smith, Fort Liard, Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, Norman Wells and Inuvik.

"We run it throughout the whole mosquito season and we look at what species are present and at what time of year," Elkin said.

"We test weekly throughout the season and work with an entomologist out of Winnipeg."