From New Hampshire to Alabama, state and local authorities have been spending countless hours protecting public health from the West Nile virus, and many FPE members are central to the effort.

The virus, which causes encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, was first reported in New York in 1999 in a dead bird. Seven human deaths in and around New York City also were attributed to the virus in 1999, which has now killed tens of thousands of animals, mainly birds.

Since detection in New York, the virus has been documented in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. But the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has put authorities in other states, including Alabama, Delaware, Florida and Virginia, on notice that their states are at risk.

The hard work of state and local employees has significantly reduced the public threat by identifying and targeting the source of the virus--mosquitoes. "Mosquito control is a complex field," says Vincent Palmer, a member of the FPE/AFT-affiliated Public Employees Federation (PEF) and a New York state supervising pesticide control inspector. "You must have a thorough understanding of the biology and behavior of the particular mosquito you are targeting. My department role is to control the application of pesticides, making sure it is necessary and done in an environmentally safe manner."

New York, the first state forced to address the virus, has taken a lead in West Nile detection and prevention. Ward Stone, a PEF member, has received international recognition for his part in fighting the virus as the state's wildlife pathologist. "All the dead animals go through his lab," says Palmer. "You could not find a better wildlife pathologist in the nation." According to PEF, Stone "is deluged with shipments of up to 300 dead birds every day for possible autopsy and lab analysis." While Stone is dissecting the dead animals, members of the FPE/AFT-affiliated Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees working for animal control are picking up and packaging dead birds for delivery to state health officials for autopsy. The FPE/AFT-affiliated Maryland Professional Employees Council represents state employees working for the Department of Agriculture mosquito control program, which has been busy spraying pesticides to kill mosquitoes in the area since the virus was first reported in Baltimore in September 2000.

"These dead birds are like sign posts," says Tony Edens, vice president of the Maryland council and spokesman for the Department of Agriculture. "We've had to go out on 50 occasions so far, spraying large areas of Baltimore City and seven Maryland counties."

"I'm not qualified to say if it will ever go away," says Palmer, "but the general consensus is that it is a disease that is here to stay."