west nile epidemic?

[537 Votes]

Once upon a time, there were only five American 'advisors' in Viet Nam, and once upon a time, there were only five AIDS victims. Geometric progressions have a way of getting out of hand, real fast.

[xrp]

So 7 people over about 2 weeks of media hype. Let's see, during the same amount of time about 11,500 people have died of heart disease (assuming roughly 300,000/year) yet the media doesn't harp on this. That's more than 3 WTC attacks! 14 days!

It comes down to being prepared. If you're in a mosquito area, use repellent. Also, try to keep healthy so your immune system can fight something like this off.

[jammer]

However, it's been around forever, so it doesn't sell newspapers or titillate reporters.

Right, and doesn't have one other characteristic: an "exotic" foreign name.

[andy_card]

I've started seeing dead crows all over my neighborhood this summer, including two in my front yard. If this thing can noticeably reduce crow populations, maybe it isn't so bad after all...

[self_evident]

Well, at least you'll be immune for the rest of your life...

WNV isn't nothing if your unlucky enough to be one of the 10% of the people that show symptoms after infection. But considering that most people get the flu have worse symptoms, and 20,000 a year die from it, WNV still doesn't really rate high on my radar list.