By Richard Harkness
Enquirer contributor

Question: In your column on the West Nile virus you mentioned that dead birds should be reported to the local health department. Are blue jays and crows the only birds that carry the virus?

Answer: More than 110 species of birds are known to have been infected with the virus, so it's best to take note of any dead birds you spot. Most infected birds survive, though many will get sick or die, particularly crows and jays.

Dead birds may mean that the virus is circulating among birds and mosquitoes in that area. That's why it's suggested that you report such sightings to state or local health departments.

Q: My husband was recently prescribed Foltx tablets, which contain 2.5 mg folate, 1 mg vitamin B12, and 25 mg vitamin B6. He also takes a multivitamin that contains 400 mg folate. Is this amount of folate harmful?

A: Folate (folic acid) is a B vitamin. The multivitamin you mention would actually contain 400 mcg of folate, not 400 mg (a thousand times more), a big difference.

Even so, the 2.5 mg plus the 400 mcg (0.4 mg) equals 2.9 mg of folate daily, a fairly large amount.

Foltx is a prescription-only nutritional supplement prescribed to reduce levels of homocysteine, an amino acid normally present in the body. Folate in combination with B6 and B12 holds down homocy-

steine levels, which, if excessive, can damage the inner artery lining and contribute to the atherosclerotic plaque buildup associated with heart disease.

Though 1 mg of folate daily may be sufficient for most people with high homocysteine, doses up to 5 mg a day have been used, and your husband's dose is well below that.

A danger is that higher doses of folate can mask the signs of pernicious anemia while allowing anemia-related damage to progress. Pernicious anemia is a vitamin B12 deficiency caused by lack of intrinsic factor, a stomach substance required for proper B12 absorption.

However, the Foltx taken by your husband probably provides enough vitamin B12 to overcome any lack of intrinsic factor.

Foods naturally high in folate include spinach, okra, asparagus, legumes, beef liver and orange and tomato juices.

The federal government requires that cold cereals and baking flour, breads, pastas, bakery items, cookies and crackers be fortified with folate. This will add about an extra 80 mcg of folate a day, but many people will still not get enough from diet alone.

That's why I generally recommend that most adults take a standard multivitamin supplement, which typically provides the adult recommended daily intake of folate (400 mcg), as well as 2 mg of vitamin B6 and 6 mcg of vitamin B12. Combined with dietary sources, this should provide adequate amounts of folate for most people.

Write Richard Harkness at 1224 King Henry Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 or e-mail rharkn@aol.com.