West Nile Virus

[Pyro]

Hi everybody,

Thought I'd do a little public service announcment after my wife jumped on me last night about there being "so many mosquitoes" out around my CPs

This is an excellent link to the CDC page on West Nile and the mosquitoes involved. Also, here is a pic of the most common carrier mosquito Culex

A little trick to help keep this Genus of mosquito from hanging out in your CP trays is to go with the "fill when dry" method of watering as Culex only breed in permanent standing water and not 'flood and dry' water holes.

Also of note is the fact that West Nile only tends to be a problem in people over 50 and under 10.

So everybody be safe around your CPs

 

[RamPuppy]

There is also the fun trick of using a tooth pick to get a drop of oil and then dipping it in your water.

The oil (vegetable) will spread out into a super thin sheet that floats ontop of your water, (won't hurt your plants) and prevent the mosquito larvae from breathing... death to skeeters...

course.. since Magore sent me some U. Gibba my outdoor tray is now home to mosquito ####!

 

[Parasuco]

I heard on the news that you could only get the virus thru human - dead bird contact...

 

[RamPuppy]

your news is wrong, west nile is transmitted by mosquitos, but is incubated in birds and humans alike... the only known vector is the mosquito... you can not get it from either birds or humans. it is not spread through touch, aresol, or any other fashion that one of those little buggers plunging it's sucker into you.

 

[Dyflam]

I hope I don't get it... I get bit at least 5 times a day.

 

[Tristan]

It's not as deadly as the media would like you to think......

 

[Stefano1]

its killed about 6 in lousiana and infected about 64

not deadly?

 

[mindmaze128]

I read somewhere that 500 people die every year from falling out of their beds...  

How many people have died from this virus in the last few years? I think this is totally hyped too much. I'd be more afraid of getting dengue fever than west nile virus... but that's just me.

Joel

 

[Tristan]

Yah but all those people were old or had other problems already.

 

[Parasuco]

Ok. So if I see a mosquito with a stripped abdomen digging into my flesh with its razor sharp proboscis, I should kill it?

 

[Dyflam]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Parasuco @ Aug. 11 2002,09:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Ok. So if I see a mosquito with a stripped abdomen digging into my flesh with its razor sharp proboscis, I should kill it?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Kill'em all I say... I hate blood suckers!!

 

[Tristan]

Yah I kill any of the blood suckers I see.

 

[Parasuco]

What do I wear to keep you away than, Tristan?

 

[carnivorous23]

Personally, I'm not too worried. 99% of the people that come into contact never show symptoms, those that do are mainly elderly or have weakened immune systems. They've found a couple dead crows with it in my hometown (last year and again this year), and just last week they trapped mosquitos near a place where I occasionally hike that carried the virus.

 

[Colieo]

Both of our horses have to be vaccinated against the disease. They are a "dead end" host (i.e. they get it & die) they cant pass it I believe.
Cole

 

[Pyro]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (mindmaze128 @ Aug. 10 2002,11:23)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'd be more afraid of getting dengue fever than west nile virus... but that's just me.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Of course you be more afraid of Dengue than WNV, you don't have WNV in PR and Dengue is pretty much localized to the Gulf coast here so most of us don't have to worry about it.

The media is really hyping this up a lot but that is nothing new. I think there is something like an 8% case fatality ratio which is about the same as the flu. It is just big news because it is a "new" virus to the States and it is spreading so fast. Give it a year or two and no one will remember it, if you don't believe me just think back to the last time you heard about Hanta virus.

 

[fatboy]

Whatever dudes, Dengue is a *****. I can tell you cause I had it for the 2nd time about 4 months ago.
I was OK, some other people suffered a lot worse than me. Headaches, sore joints, etc is all part of the fun.

There were three other people got it the same time as me, they were a LOT more serious apparently and got sent to Jakarta. Two of the three are no longer with us. I didn't know that till MUCH later.

Better off not catching anything tropical, none of it is much fun.

 

[Pyro]

Troy,

I know that Dengue is a horrid disease and I was not trying to say it is a minor disease. I was just saying that it is not so much a concern in the US because of its very limited range, I'd bet that very few people in our country really know about the disease.

That you survived a second infection with the virus is extremly impressive, the majority of people who lapse into DHF are people who get infected multiple times. Do you know what serotypes are endamic to your area? Profesional curiosity.

 

[PlantAKiss]

They have found dead birds here from West Nile...one only a few blocks from my house. This year however, there are few skeeters because of the drought. You can't find a drop of water anywhere, so no breeding grounds (except my dogs swimming pool). We were just upgraded from extreme drought to exceptional drought. Everything is dying...even the trees.

Anyone know a good rain dance?

Suzanne

 

[Dyflam]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (PlantAKiss @ Aug. 13 2002,12:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">They have found dead birds here from West Nile...one only a few blocks from my house.  This year however, there are few skeeters because of the drought.  You can't find a drop of water anywhere, so no breeding grounds (except my dogs swimming pool).  We were just upgraded from extreme drought to exceptional drought.  Everything is dying...even the trees.  

Anyone know a good rain dance?  

Suzanne[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Just remember this... when it rains it pours. Droughts do suck though.