![]() | Encephalitis Bites the
Big Apple (New York City!) West Nile Virus in the U.S. | ![]() |
By Ellen Kuwana Neuroscience for Kids Staff Writer October 7, 1999
Pesky Mosquitoes!No one likes being bitten by a mosquito and residents in New York City are taking extra precautions to avoid mosquitoes. Why the fuss? At least 37 people have been infected and five people have died from a viral brain disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes.
A New VisitorNew York City is home to millions of people, and now it can add one more visitor: the West Nile virus. This virus was first detected in Uganda in 1937. Although it has never been seen before in the Western Hemisphere, the virus could have been in the U.S. and stayed undetected. Nevertheless, Dr. Tracey McNamara, a pathologist at the Bronx zoo, helped to determine that the West Nile virus was responsible for the disease. How did it get here? Birds are the primary reservoir for the virus, although they do not always get sick. When a mosquito bites an infected bird and sucks up viruses along with blood, the mosquito becomes a carrier of the virus. When the mosquito bites a human, the virus can be passed on and the person may get sick. |
What Does the Virus Do?![]() Although the West Nile virus usually does not affect the birds that carry it, many infected birds are dying. In New York City, more than 700 wild birds, mostly crows, have died. Approximately 20 birds, including a bald eagle and five Chilean flamingos, have died at the Bronx zoo from the West Nile virus. These deaths may mean that the virus is getting stronger, or more virulent.
How Did the Virus Get to the U.S.?Because birds generally do not migrate across the Atlantic Ocean, no one knows how the virus reached the U.S. It could have come from an imported bird or from an infected human. Either way, a mosquito got more than just a tasty blood meal when it bit into the infected host.
What's to be Done?![]() |
Virus Carriers
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References:
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