Delaware is deploying chickens as an early detection tool for mosquito-borne diseases, leveraging their ability to test positive for viruses like West Nile without spreading them. The state’s approach follows an unusually early start to West Nile virus transmission in parts of the U.S., with early summer cases surpassing levels seen since 2004, according to the CDC. Officials describe chickens as a reliable indicator system, similar to a canary in a coal mine, to monitor and potentially prevent outbreaks. The method highlights an innovative use of livestock in public health surveillance.
Chickens – which can test positive for viruses but cannot spread them – an ideal early warning system for mosquito-borne diseaseThe start of West Nile virus transmission began unusually early in some US states, with the most cases in early summer since 2004, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned in July – so Delaware turned to chickens.“They kind of are the proverbial canary in the coal mine,” said Tom Moran, head of the mosquito control section at the Delaware department of natural resources and environmental control. Continue reading...
