JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There are potential health concerns involving the presence of West Nile virus in Jacksonville, according to local officials.
While there are no reported cases in people in Duval County as of Friday, it is beginning to show up again in chickens in the area.
Statewide there are five cases, primarily in the Florida Panhandle.
A chicken coup located on the Northside may look like something farmers would have to produce eggs, but actually, the job of the birds, dubbed “sentinel chickens,” is to help save lives.
The chickens help the city detect West Nile and other viruses that could make their way into the area via mosquitoes.
The blood of the chickens is tested regularly and recently, three of the chickens in the Jacksonville area have come up positive for West Nile virus. Although there are no reported cases of any humans getting sick yet, Duval County Mosquito Control is not taking any chances.
“We’re going out and we’re spraying. We did spraying last night, north of Cecil Field and Whitehouse. Anytime our sentinel chickens detect any type of virus, we go out and set up traps, and then we stay on top of it so it doesn’t have a problem moving forward,” said Al Ferraro, Interim Director of Neighborhoods.
News4JAX checked with the Duval County Health Department on Friday and it said it is now aware of the situation and is monitoring it. A spokesperson said there is no concern as of right now.
West Nile is no stranger to Northeast Florida. There was an outbreak in the area in 2011 and 2017. In 2020, 14 cases were reported in Miami.
Most who get infected experience mild illness, headaches, fever, pain and fatigue. Only 1% of people develop severe illnesses such as encephalitis, paralysis or death.
“We’ve got people out there right now we’ve got our entomologists out there looking at things, setting up traps, doing what we need to do and then continually spraying and the areas that we see that we’re having, maybe a detection of it, when we have something like this happen this is the way we react to it,” Ferraro said.
People in northern and western Duval County are being asked to take precautions when outside like using bug spray and avoiding areas of standing water.