The West Nile Virus!

West Nile encephalitis is an infection of the brain that is caused by a virus known as the West Nile virus. It was first found in Uganda in 1937. It is also commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. It is commonly found in humans, birds, and other vertebrate animals in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia, and the Middle East. People get West Nile Virus from mosquitos’ bites, but those mosquitoes have to have the West Nile Virus. Those infected mosquitoes then transmit the virus when they bite and suck blood from people and animals, and in the process, inject the virus into their victim. It takes five to fifteen days from the time someone gets bitten to the time he/she starts showing the symptoms.

I’ve learned that West Nile Virus is not a disease that can spread from human to another. Even people who deal with birds that were infected won’t contract it. Symptoms for someone with West Nile Virus include fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands. They are some severe symptoms which include stiff neck, sleepiness, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, and paralysis.
The West Nile Virus was first found in U.S. in 1999, when there was an outbreak in New York City. It came back to New York City in 2000 and was found in birds in upstate New York near the Canadian border. The disease first appeared in Nevada in 2003. In 2006, there were 3887 confirmed human cases of West Nile in the United States; 120 deaths were reported. This year, the health officials said that there are ominous signs that this year might be a big one for West Nile Virus. This is because this year’s weather has created good breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that spread the disease. People should learn how to protect themselves from this virus in any way possible.

During spring, most people usually wear shorts, short sleeves shirts, skirts, and other types of clothes that shows parts of the body that mosquitoes like to bite. I know that it is very comfortable, but they should make sure that when it’s getting dark outside they should put on something that will cover their body, because when it’s dark outside, there is a chance that you will get bitten and not even know about it. I understand that the mosquitoes develop quickly between the rainy and the warm season. In Santa Clara, when birds start dying people understand that the mosquitoes season has started. People in Santa Clara County believe that the West Nile Virus is going to be around every year because they have a hot and humid summer, and the virus can quickly grow every year because of that. Last summer, San Jose’s residents had problems with their pools and ponds. Santa Clara County found out those water resources were either infected with West Nile Virus mosquitoes, or were dirty and becoming dangerous breeding grounds.

I’ve learned that there were sixteen West Nile Virus-infected groups of mosquitoes and over 160 West Nile Virus-positive birds were found in the county. I understand that the number of West Nile Virus has dropped over the years, but I think if people would try to clean their pools and their ponds it would help a little bit more. The experts urged people to do that, and also to wear insect repellent outdoors to prevent it. People should understand that they not only need to wear the mosquitoes’ repellents at night, but during the day, too, because there are some mosquitoes that bite during the day, and some of them have been found to carry the West Nile Virus. I think this is a great way to fight the mosquitoes’ bites. I learned that mosquitoes are attracted to people by skin odors and carbon dioxide from breath; and I understand that people should use the repellent because the active ingredients that are in the repellent cause the person to be unattractive for feeding. The repellent doesn’t actually kill the mosquitoes, but they are only effective at a short distance. People are encouraged to use the repellents, but they are also warned to be careful of what type of repellents they should use because some of them don’t really work, and they might be bad for the skin.