How should a town respond to a report of a bird infected with West Nile or EEE virus?
A. It’s important to inform the community that WNV or EEE has been documented in the area. Municipal officials can provide schools and other community institutions with printed information about WNV or EEE, educate on the importance of personal protection, assess possible mosquito breeding grounds (such as old tires, standing water, red maple or cedar swamps, etc.), or consider more aggressive mosquito control measures. The exact location (e.g. streetaddress) at which an infected dead bird is found has no particular importance; it only suggests the possible presence of WNV or EEE in the general area. For this reason, the Bureau of Health recommends that public information about this location refer only to the neighborhood or local area where the bird was found. For further guidance, municipal officials can contact state agencies including but not limited to the Maine CDC, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Pesticides Control and the Department of Agriculture. (Not
