If one more bird tests positive for West Nile virus infection in St. Mary Parish, expect an emergency to be declared in Morgan City.

"It won’t be a panic reaction," Mayor Dr. Tim Tregle said. "It will be a legal procedure we need to take care of."

Tregle said the state has formally requested federal assistance in battling the nation’s worst-ever West Nile infection rate.

Gov. Mike Foster declared a state of emergency in Louisiana last week, part of an effort to qualify for federal funds.

"If that aid is ever available, it is my understanding that an emergency condition must be declared in order to be eligible for reimbursement. I want Morgan City to be in line for all the benefits that may be extended if financial assistance is out there."

The mayor said the city currently is divided into two zones and spraying trucks owned by Mosquito Control Contractors of New Iberia spray in each zone every night weather permits.

"That means we currently are spraying a given neighborhood every other night," Tregle said.

"However, if we have sound reason to believe that the (West Nile) virus is in our immediate area, the trucks will be ordered to spray the entire city every day."

The contract under which MCC currently is spraying calls for routine global positioning satellite activity reports on trucks on duty in the city.

"The city insisted on that tracking mechanism so that we could be sure we were getting what we’re paying for," Tregle said.

West Nile has been confirmed via sentinel chicken blood tests in the Baldwin-Charenton area of west St. Mary Parish.

Five deaths and more than 70 infections have been documented in the state, and Department of Health and Hospital officials warned this week that the worst U.S. outbreak of West Nile virus is only a fraction of what it likely will become.

"We believe the number’s going to be in the hundreds," Louisiana’s Secretary of Health and Hospitals David Hood said Tuesday.

The West Nile virus can cause encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. And that can cause a multitude of problems up to and including death in rare cases.

West Nile fever is far more common and much less serious. Its symptoms are flu-like in nature and usually are over come without incident.

Two Louisiana congressmen said they received a commitment Tuesday from President Bush to help get federal money to fight the disease.

Reps. William Jefferson, D-La., and Billy Tauzin, R-La., said in a news release they received the commitment in a private meeting with Bush before he signed the Trade Promotion Authority bill.

Jefferson and Tauzin said the state needs $3 million to $5 million to beef up mosquito-spraying programs.

The latest cases confirmed in Louisiana all are in parishes where it already had been diagnosed: four each in East Baton Rouge and Tangipahoa, two each in Washington and Ascension, and one each in Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes.

It’s too early yet to say whether the numbers are leveling off, and the numbers increase in jumps largely because samples are sent in batches for testing, said Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana’s state epidemiologist.

In the meantime, common-sense precautions are being urged.

They include: Eliminate mosquito breeding grounds in your yard by emptying unoccupied flower pots, buckets, barrels or other containers of standing water. Avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most prevalent. Wear light-colored long pants and long-sleeve shirts if you must be outdoors and don’t be afraid to apply mosquito repellent containing DEET, a proven product.

The highest exposure for serious illness has proved to be older people or those with weakened immune systems. Health officials have urged people in that category to limit their outdoor exposure as much as reasonably possible until the virus season subsides.