Record Breaking West Nile Cases in America
The article I chose to research was a WebMD article entitled "Worst-Ever West Nile Epidemic: What Happened?". The main points of this article touch on how 2012 is officially the year of the most West Nile cases ever found in America. The full article can be found at http://www.webmd.com/news/20121119/worst-west-nile-epidemic. This article was written on November 19, 2012, by Daniel J. DeNoon. DeNoon is the senior medical writer for WebMD and was the senior editor for CW Henderson publications.
This article discusses why and how America contracted so many cases of West Nile Virus this year, and what West Nile actually is. West Nile is a virus that first arrived New York in 1999, and in 2004 became explosive enough to become a prevalent epidemic in the United States. The estimated number of West Nile Virus cases this year is between 78,000 to 182,000. This disease has been known to cause permanent brain damage, muscle weakness, and even death. West Nile Virus, which has hit the hardest in North Dakota, has no known cure or vaccination. Thankfully, you can only get West Nile once.
West Nile Virus is a virus that starts out in birds. Mosquitos then bite humans, therefore spreading the disease from species to species. Why has 2012 been the record breaking year? It is very simple. 2012 has been a record breaker not only for it's West Nile Virus cases, but also for it's weather. We have seen some of the warmest temperatures in the summer and spring seasons. Warm weathers promote virus growth in mosquitos, and this makes it easier for the mosquitos to spread the disease quickly. The increase in warm weather for this year is one of the main reasons why DeNoon and other scientists believe that West Nile Virus was so ubiquitous this year.
Some of the most effective preventative measures taken against West Nile is wearing clothing that covers the body, wearing mosquito spray, and the very controversial aerial spraying of insecticide. This is controversial because some people say it harms the environment, and others say that it may not really be very effective.
I 100% agree with what DeNoon is saying in this article. It is very clear that the high temperatures and high number of West Nile Virus cases are closely linked. Not only does the warm weather affect how easily the mosquitos can spread the virus, but it also increases the number of mosquitos that are flying around and biting people. I am not sure, however, if I agree with the aerial spraying of the insecticide. I do think that it is harmful to the environment. Not only are the plants harmed by it, but the people and animals who are eating the plants are ingesting the insecticide as well. Taking measures such as bug spray and covering your body with protective clothing should be enough to protect yourself from nasty mosquitos. I think West Nile Virus is one of those diseases that people don't take seriously unless it happens to them. But West Nile is extremely dangerous, and everyone should try their very hardest to protect themselves.
Kaila, I really appreciated this article because I too was wondering why this was the year of the West Nile Virus cases. Everytime I put the news on there was a new report of a West Nile case and someone who was seriously sick from it.The numbers of cases that took place this year are astounding, a record-breaking number of 78,000 to 182,000 cases reported this year. Everyone has been bit by a mosquito in their lifetime but I never remembered being afraid of what might ensue after recieving the bite. The itchiness and puffiness of a mosquito bite now seems miniscule to the damaging effects it may have now. These effects include permanent brain damage, muscle weakness and even death. What Kaila noted, which makes the situation even scarier, is that there is no vaccine or cure and because it is in nature there is really no way of stopping West Nile. From this post, I learned that the virus starts with birds and then spreads to mosquitos who then give it to humans. I also learned that there may be a correlation between the warmer weather and the amount of West Nile cases breaking out this year. The warmer the weather the more mosquitos that come out and the greater the risk of being bit by that one mosquito carrying the virus.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all relate to this article. During the summer we are always bombarded with warnings of EEE or West Nile. This year it was crazy how many stories were on the news about these viruses. I'm sure we all were stocking up on bug spray this year because it is a scary thing. If you think about how many times we get bitten by mosquitoes its scary to thing that with the warmer weather there's a higher chance of those mosquitoes being infected with a deadly virus.
ReplyDeleteKaila, I think this was a great article you choose. Like Brendan said it seems to be something we can all really relate to. This summer right here in reading, we had a problem with EEE. They had to spray around the town and you could get away from all the warnings. There seems to be a connection with the warmer weather and when these misquitos are out. One of the scariest points is the fact that we have no treatment or vaccination to prevent or help infected paitents. The effects of a single misquito bite can be devasting.
ReplyDeleteKaila I think this was an excellent article to choose seeing as it relates very closely to what happened here in Reading over the summer with all of the EEE warnings. I feel like all I hear during the summer is people complaining about mosquitoes and I know I am one of those people. They are everywhere and the record breaking cases of West Nile do not surprise me at all. The only thing that surprises me is the number of cases reported. I would have thought there would be a few thousand cases but never hundreds of thousands. I guess the fact that mosquitoes can travel so quickly and infect so many people will cause numbers like this though.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article! The prevention of the West Nile Virus was crucial this year, and had everybody worrying. Having to go out in the hot weather with long sleeves and sweatpants was a pain, but it is all worth while if you are preventing yourself from getting a terrible disease like this one. I cant believe 78,000 to 182,000 cases of West Nile were reported this year. A lot of people dont take this disease very seriously and are stubborn to the fact that people around them are actually dying from it. Also, I agree with you that the insecticide spray is harmful to the enviroment. That spray is full of toxins and that is why they tell you to close all your windows when they go out to spray it. It would definately be harmful to some plants, and especially animals is they go to eat those infected plants. Overall, the precautions they make today for West Nile is okay, but I think that they should really come up with a treatment for it in the near future.
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