BELFAST (AP) – Maine has recorded its first confirmed case of West Nile virus in a dead bird this summer.
The Maine Center for Disease Control said Thursday that a grackle, a type of blackbird that is smaller than a crow, that was found in Belfast tested positive for the virus.
The positive test is a reminder that West Nile virus is present in the state and that people should take protective measures to avoid mosquito bites and reduce mosquito breeding areas near their homes, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, Maine’s top health official.
West Nile comes to Maine in infected birds, and the disease is transmitted through mosquitoes that bite the birds. There have been no confirmed human cases in Maine.
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