Word: nile
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Beach houses are boarded up, the ice cream truck is making its last rounds and Labor Day has come and gone, but even as we prepare for the fall, we're still dealing with the worst part of summer: West Nile virus...
...spread of the West Nile Virus could be because of interstate traffic of cars [Science, Aug. 12]. Mosquitoes are dragged along in the wake of cars as unsuspecting vacationers travel from east to west. Major highways generally have drainage ditches next to them; crows feed at the roadsides, and lots of mosquitoes breed in those ditches. DICKSON DESPOMMIER, PROFESSOR COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY New York City...
...West Nile Virus marches westward across the country, local governments trying to manage the mosquito-borne disease with targeted spraying are up against another pesky force: residents. Although 25 Texans have been infected with West Nile, the pesticide trucks aren't rolling in Hays County, south of Austin. More than 500 people there have signed petitions complaining that the insecticides make them sick, and the county's $35,000 mosquito-control program is on hold. "It appears that there's some chemically sensitive people," says the county health department's Tom Pope. "They've been raising a lot of Cain...
Work is progressing on a vaccine for West Nile. (One for horses already exists.) Meanwhile, the best strategy is to use a little common sense. Killing all the birds and mosquitoes that carry the virus is not really an option. "People are going to have to change their habits," says Dr. John Shanley, director of the infectious disease division at the University of Connecticut in Farmington. That means wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants and using insect repellent during mosquito season. You should also practice mosquito control around your house. Clean out the rain gutters, remove old tires...
...more on West Nile, visit www.CDC.gov