I have yet to hear anything about West Nile this summer.

[Beware the Beast Man]

I say this as I scratch one of at least 5 mosquito bites I acquired over the weekend. I guess the news is laying low on the "Ooga Booga" factor this year...

[Generic Brad]

1. No, they're not laying low

The media has just shifted their focus to the non-existent bird flu pandemic.

[Beware the Beast Man]

3. Of course. how could I forget?

Not to mention that North Calcutta Lightning Bug Disease....scary stuff. ;)

[Deja Q]

2. Last I heard, it moved on up to the East side...

:hide:

[Nicole]

4. Summer just started today so it's early

Our local news did a segment on it. It was reported that most cases surfaced in July & August last year. This year it has been reported in several states already so that caused some concern about it's early arrival.

I don't remember all the states that have reported it this year already but Utah, California & Minnesota were some.

[jane_pippin]

5. West Nile caught SARS *and* Bird Flu

so I'm pretty sure it's dead now. :shrug:

As for the ooga booga factor, we still have gators. Stay Safe--Look out for chompers!

[Beware the Beast Man]

9. Gators??? Aaaack!!!

[Robb]

6. West Nile, hanta, and plague

Ah, Colorado. Add in Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever, or whatever the hell it's called. Gak. :D

[fizzgig]

13. don't forget lyme disease

and the chronic wasting disease that could be leaking into the groundwater or floating around in the air from the CDC or whatever site is playing with decomposed deer carcasses in Ft. Collins

[XNASA]

7. Wes Nile? Wes Nile and the Texas Skeeters?

They have a new CD coming out this summer. I hear it's kickass.

[Beware the Beast Man]

8. "I Got that Swollen Brain Blues Again, Mama" is a lost classic.

[KitchenWitch]

10. Here in Minnesota

they just did some tests on some dead birds, and they were positive for West Nile. I think they are testing some of the swamps around here as well.

[dolo amber]

11. I heard the same here in WI

3 crows and a blue jay thus far have tested positive, and so they're like sweeping the whole state. How's that work, anyway? Do they have to kill them? Cos they totally said "sweep"...and that's kinda upsetting. :shrug:

[KitchenWitch]

12. I have no clue

I hope our feathered friends will be okay though

:scared:

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. Three, out of how many millions of birds...

Sheesh.

[pitohui]

20. corvids have almost 100 percent mortality from west nile

their "sweep" is picking up dead birds

any crow or blue jay with west nile is a dead man walking, "they" don't have to kill them, if it's like what happened in the south, they are just picking up birds that are already dead or (in a few cases) that are having seizures and are moments from death

i can't believe in the first years of west nile in louisiana i went almost 2 years w. no blue jays in my yard, fortunately, new ones have now moved into the open territory


my state no longer accepts birds for testing, we have too many human cases

[necso]

14. CDC incidence map:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/Mapsincidence/surv&control06IncidMaps.htm

Not that I completely trust the data.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Oh wonderful!

My county shows activity!

*sigh*

:shrug:

[necso]

17. Most people with healthy immune systems

aren't greatly threatened by the West Nile virus, that is, as a matter of probability they (apparently) aren't, although there are (apparently) exceptions to this trend.

With higher probability (apparently), West Nile can be a serious threat to those with impaired immune systems.

As the climate warms (apparently), and as previously unheard-of or uncommon insect-borne diseases trend to becoming more common, the vulnerable are well-advised, I think, to take more precautions.

The original link is to the human incidence page; other data is referenced there, but I didn't check it out.

[pitohui]

21. it is threat to people over 50

in our safe little fantasy world of keeping fit and being strong, we forget that age is a risk factor

unfortunately in the case of west nile, if you are over age 50, you are geriatric for that disease and you are indeed at risk

we have had such people as an athlete (jockey) killed at age 52 in my parish

since it can't be released until there is a full study which takes many years i was told under the table that while you are under 50 (and almost certainly while you are under 40) you may want to seriously consider exposing yourself to the outdoors and to mosquitoes because prior exposure to a mosquito with west nile or one of its close relatives like st. louis while you were in a condition to fight off its effects may serve as a vaccine while we have no vaccine

keep in mind that most young/middle aged people DO NOT EVEN KNOW they have been infected by west nile, they only know if they are tested to see if they have the antibodies to this disease, they never get ill and never have a problem

but THERE IS NO GUARANTEE and i almost hesitate to post this since a friend of mine was killed in his teens by st louis encephalits (our native version), he was in great shape and looked like a movie star but he did have diabetes unfortunately so no use telling yourself you're safe if you're trim and hunky

life is risk i guess

make the best decision you can -- despite my friend's death, i ultimately chose to expose myself and had minimal although unnerving neurological symptoms (i lost all sensation in my lower arms) from which i completely recovered in a few days and have never experienced any recurrence

[necso]

25. Peoples' immune systems tend to lose

their edge with age, and there's (apparently, generally) increased risk with age for many diseases, including West Nile (or so I seem to remember) -- as there is (apparently, generally) increased risk with other factors. Plus, some people just seem (apparently) to be vulnerable.

I wouldn't and don't take the threat lightly myself. And who knows, if there's significant mutation, then those-at-risk (more precise than "immune-impaired", I suppose) might be able to be infected a second time.

Loss of sensation in the lower arms could well be a symptom of West Nile, with loss of control over the extremities being a step beyond this.

Of course, other medical conditions could exacerbate the symptoms, and these are worth considering as contributing factors.

Recurrence is an interesting issue, and apparently there's some risk of this. In its serious form, it's certainly nothing to look forward to.

Self-immunization of this sort is a risky undertaking, and I can't that say I recommend it. However, if exposure is more-or-less inevitable -- and one has verified confidence that one is free from medical conditions that would place one at extreme risk -- then it's worth considering.

[pitohui]

18. mosquito borne encephalitis comes and goes

this is no joke to me, one of my friends, a high school boy mind you, died of st louis encephalitis in the 1970s outbreak that killed 2000 -- i did not know it killed 2000 until recently, most were killed in the midwest, but a few most vulnerable also died on the gulf coast (my friend had juvenile diabetes so fell into the vulnerable category although he seemed a big strong young man while he was here)

st louis/japanese (which don't occur in the americas)/ west nile/ lacross are all closely related

in louisiana they will publish which years are bad and if you have a bad unexplained headache go IMMEDIATELY to the emergency room because you can die or have permanent neurological symptoms (such as being brain damaged or not be able to make your body walk) if it goes untreated and you are one of the unfortunates

MOST people have only a mild illness or maybe never realize they were ill at all but keep an eye on your local news

also, if you have mosquito bites and have unexplained numbness/headaches don't be embarrassed to ask your doctor about west nile/st louis etc.!

west nile is mostly likely to cause problems for people over 50 who have other health problems who have never been exposed to a related disease (sort of semi-inoculated) like st. louis etc.

there is even a vax for japanese encephalitis, believed to provide only partial protection against the others so it is not offered in usa however i suspect the partial protection is enough to prevent the worst outcomes, that is pure speculation on my part and not to be replaced by consultation w. your doctor if you work a lot where you can't avoid mosquito bites

[KitchenWitch]

19. I remember that outbreak

I think quite a few of the deaths were in Minnnesota IIRC.

It is something I keep track of, since I have imparied immunity.

[pitohui]

22. we didn't have the internets then

my friend was the only person we knew who died of this, we didn't even know that there was a huge outbreak going on upriver

it was a horrible experience and frankly all the more horrible because we had no idea that it wasn't something that had picked him out individually

[KitchenWitch]

23. I can imagine how scary that must have been

I was probably about 10 when that "epidemic" hit here in Minnesota. At least they seemed to know that it was mosquito borne, when they were reporting it here.

But that is cold comfort in Minnesota, which some summers seems to be mosquito central.

[pitohui]

24. they knew it was mosquito borne, there was just nothing to be done

he was a teen aged boy, you could not ask him to stay indoors, he went out hunting and apparently the mosquito that infected him got him on his hunting trip, which was in late autumn, he actually died over the christmas holidays, can you imagine such a thing for his family

it was just horrible and unbelievable and i really don't know what else to say

the only reason i know that there was a larger outbreak is because a few years ago by chance i found out on the internet i learned that there were 2000 victims, many upriver in missouri and i guess points further north like minnesota as well

he may have been the only louisiana victim, i know at the time they were adamant he acquired the disease upriver and out of state but who really knows