Originally published January 22 2006
West Nile virus claimed more deaths in 2005 than ever before
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists at the Center for Disease Control say that West Nile, transmitted mainly via mosquitoes, has claimed more lives than last year due to a longer mosquito season.
West Nile virus is here to stay, the CDC says.
There were more serious cases of West Nile virus this year than last.
That, the CDC says, means we aren't going to see the mosquito-borne disease go away.
It's now firmly planted in the U.S., becoming what the CDC calls an endemic disease.
suggests that endemic transmission of West Nile virus in the United States will continue for the foreseeable future," states an editorial note in the Dec. 16 issue of the CDC's MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Over the first 11 months of 2005, there were 385 more reported West Nile cases -- 2,744 -- than during the same period in 2004.
It's called West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) -- infection of the brain and central nervous system.
Because most infections will not produce a lot of symptoms and West Nile fever usually is so mild, most people don't see a doctor.
Other focal points of serious disease were Illinois, Texas, and Louisiana.
But the likelihood of getting West Nile virus was highest in South Dakota, where there were 4.8 cases of WNND per 100,000 residents.
Other hot spots were Nebraska and North Dakota (2.1 and 1.9 WNND cases per 100,000 residents, respectively).
The problem is that it circulates in wild birds.
Corvids -- crows, ravens, jays, and magpies -- carry a lot of virus in their blood.
So do house finches and house sparrows.
Mosquitoes that bite the birds carry the virus to humans, horses, and other animals.
That means keeping your yard and house free of tires, flowerpots, clogged gutters, and other places where water stagnates.
It also means wearing mosquito repellent and protective clothing -- and simply avoiding being outdoors at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.
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