[NHCOLL-L:2816] West Nile from specimen prep?

[Tonya Haff]

Hi all,

I was wondering if any of you knew the risks of preparing bird 
specimens in light of West Nile virus.  Is there a risk of 
contracting the disease from dead birds that have been frozen?  If 
so, does anyone know how high that risk might be?  I don't worry 
about it too much for myself, but I'm wondering if we should include 
a study skin preparation lab in our Ornithology lab this fall.

Thanks,

Tonya
-- 
Tonya M. Haff
Senior Museum Scientist
Museum of Natural History Collections
Environmental Studies Department
University of California
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
phone: (831) 459-4763
fax: (831) 459-4015
email: thaff at ucsc.edu
http://mnhc.ucsc.edu