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9.26.2000 00:15
Virus-infected
blue jay found
in Westerly
WESTERLY
-- A blue jay found here tested positive for the West Nile virus this weekend, but officials have already sprayed insecticide in the neighborhood where it was found and will not do so again.
The state Department of Environmental Management picked up the bird on George Street on Sept. 14, after receiving reports that it was behaving strangely.
Birds infected with West Nile often stagger or hang their heads at an odd angle, Malcolm Grant, DEM associate director for natural resources, said yesterday.
Grant said the bird, the 14th found with the virus in Rhode Island this year, was the sixth found in Westerly. The agency has tested 130 dead birds.
Westerly officials sprayed the area around George Street on Wednesday, two days after a bird found in Wilcox Park tested positive for West Nile.
The DEM said yesterday that people should continue to avoid mosquito bites, although the onset of colder weather will reduce the threat.
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