Bird with West Nile virus found in northeast Georgia

BUFORD - Officials said a second dead bird in Georgia has tested positive for the West Nile virus this year, and it&#39;s in northeast Georgia.<br> <br> The dead cowbird was found May 16th in Buford. Gwinnett County officials spread mosquito larvae-killing pellets in water sources in the area Friday. <br> <br> State health department spokesperson Barbara Joy said blue jays, crows and birds of prey are the most susceptible. &#34;We also would like birds that freshly killed, not decayed and that were not killed by something obvious, like a cat started eating them, or they hit a pole.&#34;<br> <br> A dead crow infected with the West Nile virus was picked up the DeKalb County Police Department on May 15th. It was sent to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in Athens where it tested positive for the virus. <br> <br> The virus infected six people in Georgia last year, including an elderly Atlanta woman who died in August. The disease showed up in birds and horses in 58 of the state&#39;s 159 counties. <br> <br> West Nile virus has sickened 149 humans and killed 18 since its discovery in the New York area in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were 66 cases and nine deaths last year.<br> <br> The first infected bird in northeast Georgia was found last year in Stephens County.

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