I've been wondering about this West Nile thing. They say that there now may be 18 deaths throughout the US attributed to West Nile. In Harris County, there have been something like 10 confirmed cases and one death. What I'm wondering is if anyone else sees this as a scare on par with the shark attack scare the last summer or two. Ten cases out of almost 5 million people? I read that your chances of actually being bitten by a carrier mosquito are 1 in 1000 and your chances of actually being infected with the disease if you are bitten are also 1 in 1000. Those are awfully long odds. I'm not saying we shouldn't be wary and certainly be careful. I also think the loss of life is very sad. I just wonder if we aren't blowing this a tad out of proportion.
My Mom is suggesting to not have my kids out in late evening (her grandkids, of course )...I certainly think it is overreacting, but now I am starting to think more about it...
It reminds me a little of the 50's during the Polio scare. Parents were convinced that if you were out in the afternoon in the heat of the day, that you were more likely to get it. It was a bit weird for a while. The streets in my neighborhood would be deserted for hours in the afternoon. (We used to play in the streets, ride in cars crawled under the back window, climb trees with abandon, ride bikes without a helmet... I could go on, but life was different then. An age of innocence lost.) I think it was from a Readers Digest article or something. Didn't last forever. Thank goodness for the vaccine! I've got kids, and the West Nile thing is worrisome. My son's allergic to bug-spray. Now I know a little bit about how my parents felt. I hope it IS all overblown. It's a nasty thing to get, if your unlucky and catch it.
I could care less if I aquire the WN virus. I think the odds of dying are about .1% and that's not that high.
From the CDC's website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm It is not near as bad as our wonderful news makes it out to be... I still don't let my little son outside for too long at night though.
Actually, I think the whole child-abduction thing is closer to last year's summer of the shark attacks. Fewer kids are being abducted this year than in years past, but the media is covering it like never before. I am so sick of the frigging news...
I do my best to avoid being outside without some sort of bug spray and not just in the evening. WNV has been reported in mosquitos that feed during the day as well. I'm doing my best to keep my yard clean and free of standing water. No one is exempt from getting WNV. It's not limited to children and the elderly. There are reported cases of people in their 20's with WNV. It's some scary ****....
Nah, not until they make a big budget movie entitled, Probiscus - then it has a chance at being as big a non-issue as shark attacks.
I'm with you, Jeff....West Nile Virus is overblown...the coverage of this thing is so out of control...so sensational. Can anyone get the disease?? absolutely! But as you point out, we have like 10 confirmed cases in the entire freaking city! Not exactly an outbreak! It kills 10% of those afflicted with it, and that's usually only the very old. Should you wear bug spray?? absolutely!! But let's not pretend like we're all in this hugely immense danger. St. Louis encephillitis (i know i didn't spell that right!) was the same kind of thing...driven by mosquitos...eventually the virus played itself out after an outbreak on par with this West Nile Virus one of this summer...and then it dies down again and doesn't resurface for years.
