Crow in Newbury Park Had West Nile

A third wild bird in Ventura County has tested positive for West Nile virus, health officials said Thursday.

The crow was found dead July 9 near Henry Drive in Newbury Park, said William Stratton, technical services manager for the county Environmental Health Division.

Two other crows in Ventura County have been found to have the virus in recent months. The dead birds were discovered in Ojai and Simi Valley.

Stratton said county officials have collected and tested 51 birds since Jan. 1, when West Nile surveillance efforts began. Mosquitoes, which feed on infected birds, transmit the disease to animals and humans.

No humans in Ventura County are known to have contracted the virus, but an Orange County man died of the disease last month, state health officials announced Thursday.

Infected people experience flu-like symptoms, such as fever, nausea, headaches and body aches. The disease causes death in fewer than 1% of cases.

West Nile virus has been discovered in more than two dozen horses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties this year, resulting in 11 equine deaths, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Stratton said Ventura County officials learned of the Newbury Park crow through a state Department of Health Services hotline, (877) WNV-Bird or (877) 968-2473.