Alaska officials work on West Nile virus program

ANCHORAGE - Alaska public health officials are working with other state, federal and local agencies and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a statewide West Nile virus surveillance program.

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No cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been reported in people or animals in Alaska. Officials are developing the statewide surveillance program as a precautionary measure, said Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health and Social Services.

The department's Division of Public Health is involved in the effort with the CDC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Alaska Museum, Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies.

Castrodale said the participants are in the early stages of developing a plan to monitor any potential outbreaks of the virus, which can cause flu-like symptoms and inflammation of the brain.

The surveillance program is expected to be in place by April.

While the virus can be deadly, most people bitten by an infected bug don't get sick. The virus is most dangerous for the elderly and people with weak immune systems.

West Nile first appeared in the United States in 1999, when seven people infected with the virus in New York died.

Nationwide, the virus has killed 68 people and infected about 1,460 in 30 states and the District of Columbia, according to the CDC.

More than 100 birds have been identified that carry the virus and about 40 of them spend time in Alaska, according to James Kruse, a curator and entomologist at the UA museum. He said the virus could arrive here in less than a decade through migratory birds.

However, a series of natural events must occur before people would be exposed to infection, Castrodale said.

First, a mosquito must bite an infected bird when the virus is in full swing - a window lasting between three days and a week. If the mosquito ingests enough infected blood, it then must quickly transfer the virus to a human.