Second bird in area tests positive for virus

NORTH LIMA -- West Nile virus has been confirmed in a second Mahoning County bird, a crow found in the East South Range Road area.
The crow was collected Sept. 17 and the virus confirmed Monday by the Ohio Department of Health.
On Sept. 7, ODH confirmed the West Nile virus in a blue jay found in Poland village and sent to the Ohio Department of Agriculture for testing Aug. 15.
In Trumbull County, a blue jay from Southington was confirmed as testing positive on Sept. 15.
The latest positive test comes as the mosquito season and the danger of contracting West Nile virus winds down.
Rick Setty, director of environmental health for the Mahoning County Board of Health, said the four mosquito traps his agency used have been stored for the winter after catching no mosquitoes the last week of September.
Setty said dead birds collected through the end of October will be sent to the state for analysis. But he said the cold weather has severely reduced the mosquito population and the first hard freeze should destroy what is left.