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Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus are at the peak of their game in Kansas.

It was last Aug. 21 that the state recorded the first of seven deaths attributed to the virus. The last death occurred in October.

"The mosquitoes that carry West Nile are most active in July and August and into September," said KDHE spokeswoman Sharon Watson. "They are especially active at dawn and dusk."

No one in Kansas has died from the virus this year, but it was a little more than a week ago that this year's first case of West Nile in a human was confirmed, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

The person who was infected had a mild West Nile virus fever and has recovered, Watson said. The person was not identified.

Mosquitoes are carriers of West Nile because they pick it up by biting and sucking blood from birds. The disease is transmitted to humans bitten by a carrier mosquito. West Nile has been confirmed to exist in 18 Kansas counties so far this year, determined primarily by tests on dead birds.

Last week Douglas County was one of three counties added to the growing list. The others were Wyandotte and Butler counties. A dead blue jay found in Douglas County tested positive for the disease, Watson said.

"Once it is in one bird it spreads fairly quickly," she said of the virus.

A Lawrence family is wondering whether a crow that died in their yard a little more than a week ago was infected with West Nile.

Tracie Miller became concerned when she saw the crow on the ground, unable to fly.

"At that time it would spread its wings and lie in the yard," Miller said. "It would try to raise its head and its eyes would roll back in its head."

Later, after a neighbor put the crow in a box, it started having seizures, Miller said. "It was really weird," she said.

Miller thought the bird could be saved and called Prairie Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper St. Employees there told her the bird could have West Nile.

The crow died that afternoon. Later, acting on directions from KDHE, her husband, Quinn Miller, picked up the bird, wrapped it and put it in a freezer. He took the bird to the Douglas County office of K-State Research and Extension, which will see that the bird is tested for West Nile.

Tracie Miller said KDHE told her they would not call and tell her the results of West Nile testing on the crow.

Test results are not relayed to individuals reporting the dead birds because there are so many calls, Watson said. KDHE's West Nile hot line gets about 80 calls per day.

If a bird tests positive for West Nile it is publicly announced. After a second bird in a county is confirmed to have the virus, KDHE will no longer test birds from that county.

Last year West Nile was confirmed in 91 of Kansas' 105 counties, according to KDHE. In 2002 it was found in 103 counties.

"It was probably in the other counties as well, we just didn't have the right birds," Watson said.