With the public being asked to bring dead birds to local health departments to be tested for the West Nile virus, the Arkansas Department of Health is issuing guidelines for handling the dead birds.
Several dead birds found in St. Francis County -- one of them in Forrest City -- have tested positive in preliminary testing for West Nile virus.
Birds must be freshly dead in order for the test to be effective.
"People should use a glove or a plastic bag to pick up the bird," said Laurie Lacer, epidemiologist with the ADH. "You can turn a plastic bag inside out and pick up the bird with the hands protected by the bag if you don't have a glove. Then turn the bag right side out and tie or seal it, placing it in a plastic bag. In ideal situations, the birds should be kept on ice until they are delivered to the local health unit."
According to the ADH, the general public should avoid barehanded contact with any dead animal. In special cases where the individual is elderly or handicapped and cannot drive, they can call the local health unit and ask that the birds be picked up.
West Nile virus is transmitted by infected mosquitoes biting humans, horses and other animals after feeding on diseased birds, which are the host animals. Symptoms of human West Nile virus infections typically begin within 14 days following the insect bite and consist of fever, muscle and joint aches, listlessness, and in most severe cases, headaches leading to encephalitis. There is no specific treatment. Avoiding mosquitoes is considered the best prevention.
Most people infected by the virus experience a day or two of flu-like symptoms. Those at greatest risk and the very old and those with compromised immune systems.
Mosquitoes can breed in any body of water, from small containers such as tires and tin cans to large bodies of water like lakes or marshes.
Residents are asked to dispose of tin cans, plastic containers, ceramic pots or similar water-holding containers, including discarded tires. Holes should be drilled in the bottoms of recycling containers that are kept outdoors. Roof gutters should drain properly and be cleaned in the spring and fall.
Plastic wading pools and wheelbarrows should be turned over when not in use. Water in birdbaths should be changed regularly. Vegetation and debris should be cleaned from the edges of ponds. Swimming pools, outdoor saunas and hot tubs should be cleaned and chlorinated.
Water should be drained from pool covers. Landscaping can be used to eliminate stagnant water.
The Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department will be sealing portions of area Highways for the next few weeks.
According to a press release, weather permitting, the ASHTD will begin sealing Highway 193, Section 0, that runs through St. Francis County and also Highway 193, Section 1, from Highway 306 to Highway 64 (a distance of 8.1 miles) between Aug. 12 and Aug. 23.
Other areas to be sealed are Highway 364, Section 1 from Vanndale going west (4.5 miles) and Highway 284, Section 1 from Highway 193 to Wynne (7.5 miles) in selected sections, in Cross County, will be sealed at in the same time period.
Locations that will be sealed between Aug. 19 and Aug. 30 are Highway 77, Section 5 from Lake David to Marion (13 miles) and Highway 61, Section 2 from Lake David to the Mississippi Line (5 miles), in Crittenden County.
Motorists should be advised that it usually takes from four to eight days from the time the material is placed until the excess is swept off the roadway, the release states.
Two Forrest City men have been arrested in connection with a set of recent burglaries and break-ins according to a press release from the Forrest City Police Department.
According to the release, 25-year old Travis Kimble, 1947 Williams Street and 23-year old Tyrone Hall, 2129 Williams Street were arrested Friday, in connection with the commercial burglary at Subway in Forrest City and in connection with burglaries at both the Highway 1 by-pass construction site on U.S. Highway 70 and at the Forrest City Junior High School construction site. According to the report, the pair broke into tool trailers at both construction sites.
Kimble and Hall were both charged with commercial burglary, two counts of breaking or entering, theft of property over $500 and theft of property under $500. Both were arrested while incarcerated at the St. Francis County Jail on unrelated charges.