West Nile Arrives (Los Angeles!)

Los Angeles Daily News ^ | September 6th | Troy Anderson

[Cachelot]

Not to ignore your obvious points, but West Nile Virus would make a great test of the time frame and areas of pathogenic spread based on the initial release site(s) and vector as possible future reference for delivery of a much worse biological agent, IMHO.

That is an excellent point.

In addition, introducing a disease such as west nile with a low fatality rate might seem like small potatoes as terror goes, but if the disease takes real hold in the US we're looking at something costly in terms of plain economics.

Then there's the fact that the disease seems to be changing a bit, as if someone is fine-tuning it. There is some data on that too, I'll see if I can get hold of it.

[Cachelot]

but I don't know how they would benefit from a bird-human disease because it would spread to their own countries just as easily and they have more crowded less hygenic conditions than we have

West Nile already is in their part of the world, and you can assume that their population already has some natural resistance to it. Introducing a bug which already is in their population to an enemy where it isn't is a pure win. Even more of a pure win if it isn't recognized as an attack.

[Rome2000]

The government still hasn't declared the Anthrax attacks to be biological terrorism by foreign agents.

Our inability to effectively respond, as the country of origin is unknown, is the reason why.

Iraq admits they have a bioweapons program, and the USA is now asking the leftists at the UN for permission to wipe out this threat.

A nuke could go off in a US city and we could quite possibly have no one to retaliate against.

[Joe Hadenuf]

How can someone NOT have a mosquito bite this time of the year?

I haven't. Of course in So. Cal there just aint a lot of them. Not in my area anyway....

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Bella_Bru]

Same here. The only mosquito bite I got this year is when I went to see my family in upstate NY. I was eaten alive up there. But I haven't been bitten in SoCal yet.

[Joe Hadenuf]

I am just waiting so see one of those suckers, so I can kill it...Not only have I not been bit, I haven't even seen one this summer. Not complaining though.

[Bigg Red]

Hey! The East Coast is way ahead of the Left Coast on this one. And now we've got malaria!

Thanks for the ping.

[Bigg Red]

How can someone NOT have a mosquito bite this time of the year?

And how many times do you get mosquito bitea and forget about them hours later?

I don't know what the incubation period would be for this, but I suspect that, by the time one's symptoms show up, the bite is well healed.

[Bigg Red]

We had two cases of malaria in the DC area over the past week in two people who have never been outside the country.

[CJ Wolf]

got a link on that story.

Did the jet fly from Loudoun?

[justshe]

Ah, Red........were that *I* was so lucky.

My mosquito bites swell up and last 2-3 weeks....LOL.

[CJ Wolf]

Yep not overseas but they live real close the international airport and a swampy parkland to boot.

They spray anvil tonight

[Bigg Red]

DEET really does work. I am a mosquito magnet, but when I use my Off they don't bite.

[Bigg Red]

West Nile Virus would make a great test of the time frame and areas of pathogenic spread...

It's also a great way to tie up the health system and use up a lot of money if the outbreaks accelerate, especially if people panic.

[blam]

"Did the jet fly from Loudoun?"

Sorry, I was just flipping through some headlines real fast and just caught the part I posted. I don't know.

[Bigg Red]

My sympathies, allergic one. They love me, but my suffering is not prolonged. I guess my immune system is not too stirred up by that enzyme in the mosquito saliva.

[callisto]

DEET really does work. I am a mosquito magnet, but when I use my Off they don't bite

I prefer to eat garlic...lots of garlic. The mosquitos never bite me when I eat it consistently. Of course, a little too much and no one else wants to come around me either. LOL!