Word: nile
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...this the year West Nile strikes with a vengeance? Back in the spring, public-health officials were divided over how bad this summer's outbreak would be. Last year the mosquito-borne disease resulted in more than 4,000 cases and nearly 300 deaths, and heavy spring rains led some local experts to predict a mosquito baby boom and an explosion of cases in 2003. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was more cautious. The outbreak was likely to be as bad as last year's, said the CDC, but because diseases like West Nile spread...
...rainy spring this year produced a bumper crop of mosquitoes, making for a very buggy summer. The good news: whether you are concerned about the West Nile virus or just want to enjoy the outdoors bite-free, there is a fresh crop of products out this year that promise to fight mosquitoes. There are candles, sandalwood sticks, zappers, and traps that emit carbon dioxide (part of what attracts mosquitoes to humans). A Korean cell-phone maker is selling a ring tone that it claims will repel blood-thirsty bugs. The bad news is that the effectiveness of some of these...
Spring showers this year have produced a bumper crop of mosquitoes--and heightened fears of the West Nile virus they carry. So far this year, the virus is off to a relatively slow start (the first human cases began showing up last week), but experts predict that by the time it peaks in August, this year's West Nile season may be the worst yet--worse even than that of 2002, when 4,000 Americans were infected and 284 died...
...much do we know about West Nile? A lot more than we did, thanks to a study published in the current issue of the journal Neurology. A detailed analysis of 23 cases conducted by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found symptoms that they weren't expecting and didn't find some that they were. The skin rash thought to be the hallmark of the virus showed up in only about 25% of cases. On the other hand, nearly half the patients studied experienced significant muscle weakness or partial paralysis. In fact, paralysis--up to and including generalized quadriplegia...
Just in time for mosquito season, the FDA has approved the first screening test for West Nile virus. The blood test, made by PanBio Limited of Australia, detects antibodies in patients with symptoms of meningitis or encephalitis. But because West Nile is part of a family of similar viruses, the FDA suggests that patients who test positive get a more thorough follow...