Bird Hot Line Telephone Numbers:
The following birds will be picked up and tested for West Nile: Blue Jays, Crows, and Raptors (eagles, falcons, owls, and hawks). Clarke Mosquito Control will pick up dead birds within 24 hours. They desire the bird carcass to be left in place if it is less than 24 hours old to record geographical location. If the carcass is picked up, the location needs to be noted and the carcass put on ice for Clarke's Mosquito Control pick-up.
Clarke Mosquito Control Telephone Numbers:
(404) 524-7368
(404) 224-0478
(404) 730-5296
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEST NILE?
To date, there have been no reported cases of the infection on our campus. While there have been high profile deaths from the West Nile virus, the chances of contracting the disease are extremely low. For more information about the virus, the following Web links are very helpful. Please take the time to review the information available.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm
Georgia Department of Human Resources
http://health.state.ga.us/epi/news/apr02/041102.shtml
http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/epi/gers/ger0401.pdf
Fulton County (Requires Internet Explorer v5.0 or later, or Netscape v6.0 or later)
http://myfultoncountyga.com/services/services_detail_T27_R145.html
We will also continue to provide updated information about the West Nile virus at the Student Health Center Web site, located at http://www.health.gatech.edu.
What is Georgia Tech Doing?
For the last year, Georgia Tech has been working to eradicate mosquito-breeding areas throughout campus, but the task is daunting. Water accumulating in a large leaf is of sufficient volume to allow mosquito breeding. Nevertheless, Georgia Tech Facilities has been trying to eliminate sources of standing water and administer larvicide in areas where water is most likely to accumulate. You can help too by eliminating standing water wherever you may see it, whether it's in a cup of water, an empty flowerpot, or anything else that can accumulate water. Also, keep in mind that mosquito activity is greatest at dawn and dusk.
What Should I Do?
The best defense against contracting this disease is awareness and education. Hopefully this note helps in that process. Please take the time to educate yourself about West Nile and some common sense precautions you can take to minimize your risk. We've established a Web site at http://www.gatech.edu/westnile where we will post this note and additional information as it becomes available. Please refer to it periodically to see if there are any updates.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Additional Links:
CDC Questions and Answers on West Nile.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm