Zoos fight West Nile virus

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Concerned about the spread of the West Nile virus, zoos across the country are vaccinating some of their most susceptible animals.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is using a commercial vaccine for domestic horses to inoculate its equine species -- zebras, donkeys and miniature horses.

And many zoos are taking prevention a step further, vaccinating both equine and bird populations, even though the vaccine has not been proven effective in birds.

The St. Louis Zoo has had four confirmed cases of West Nile deaths in birds, and the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans lost two flamingo chicks to the disease. A penguin also died at a zoo in Rochester, N.Y., and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., reported that two flamingo chicks and a duck died from the virus.