Sioux City officials check dead bird for West Nile virus

Sioux City officials are sending a dead bird to the state lab to have it tested for West Nile virus. Chuck Siperlee is director of environmental services for Woodbury County and wouldn’t be surprised if the virus turned up in northwest Iowa.He says the county’s surveillance hasn’t confirmed it yet, but with cases in South Dakota and Nebraska, he suspects it’s in that corner of Iowa, too. Siperlee says they like a call from anyone who finds a dead crow or bluejay.He says if they’ll call the health department he’ll send someone out to pick it up, and recommends not touching the dead bird even though that’s not the way the virus is spread. He says they have a problem with birds that turn out to be badly decomposed and they need specimens that are freshly dead. Siperlee doesn’t say how long it might take to get the lab report.