13 birds found in O.C. with West Nile virus

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Authorities say 13 birds collected from Orange County have tested positive for West Nile virus, The Times’ David Reyes reports.

The Orange County Vector Control District said that the infected birds were mostly crows and were collected during the first nine days of May.

Robert Cummings, the agency’s scientific and technical director, said the number of West Nile-positive birds found in such a short period reminds him of 2004. That year, 66 people were infected with the virus in Orange County and four of them died.

No human cases have been reported in Orange County this year.

The virus is transmitted to humans and animals through bites from mosquitoes, which become infected when they feed on infected birds.

-- Francisco Vara-Orta