This summer has seen one of the largest outbreaks of West Nile Virus since the mosquito-borne illness first appeared in North America in 1999, officials from the Centers for Disease Control said Wednesday.
Last week, the Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District reported that a . It was the county’s first for 2012. So far, 14 dead birds in Contra Costa County have been found to carry the disease. There have been no reported cases of humans with West Nile Virus in Contra Costa or Alameda counties.
See West Nile Virus numbers for all of California on the state's website.
Across the country, there are 1,118 reported illnesses. A normal year sees only 300 such cases by mid-August, according to the Washington Post. Half of the illnesses reported this year are in Texas.
West Nile virus symptoms may include headache, fever, body aches, vomiting, nausea, swollen lymph glands, and skin rash on the chest, stomach and back.
Approximately 80 percent of people who become infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms, although some 20 percent will develop West Nile fever.
Of those, less than 1 percent may develop a more severe form of illness with symptoms such as high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, paralysis and in extreme cases death. While there is no cure for West Nile virus, it is preventable.
Residents can help reduce the threat by eliminating unnecessary standing water in discarded tires, buckets, kiddie pools and stock backyard ponds or other permanent water features with mosquitofish. The fish are free and can be delivered or simply picked up at the District office. Residents are encouraged to report mosquito problems, neglected swimming pools or dead birds to the West Nile virus hotline at 1-877-968-2473 or online at www.westnile.ca.gov.
But symptoms of West Nile are similar to the flu, yet you would actually be better off if it was West Nile you had and not the flu, since the flue kills 720 times more people a year than West Nile does. I believe it is more about ratings for the 6 o'clock news than concern for public safety. Yes it is a concern, but be 720 times more concerned about getting the flu imo. Bee's even kill more people than mosquitoes carrying West Nile do.
That's completely different from your probability of dying GIVEN that you have the flu or the WNV. The mortality rate of people suffering from WNV in recent outbreaks in this country is between 2.5 and 5% or so. In contrast, http://www.virology.ws/2009/06/16/how-many-people-die-from-influenza/ reports worldwide death rates from seasonal flu at less than half a percent. So you got it completely backwards: assuming you want to live, you would be better off getting the flu than the WNV, any day. What you said is equivalent to: "you're better off jumping off the GG bridge than getting the flu since you're thousands of times more likely to die from the flu than jumping off the bridge."
As to what we should be focused on (flu or WNV), that's another issue. I was simply responding to your misapplication of statistics to which disease you're better off getting.
If you still don't get the GG bridge analogy, insert "develop pancreatic cancer" in place of "jumping off the GG bridge" and you'll get the gist.
Also, both West Nile and the flu are not completely preventable, close. You can greatly lower your odds. Jumping from a bridge is preventable 100% by not going on a bridge. So I still don't get that one.