west nile update for those still following the story

[peachfront]

I think the worst is over in Louisiana for now, but thought I'd post a couple links for folks still following the West Nile Virus story. As of Sept. 16, the CDC says there are 66 dead, 1460 confirmed human cases:

http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/wncount.htm

We lost 11 people in Louisiana, at least 3 of them in my parish (St. Tammany).

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) is calling for an investigation to determine if the West Nile Virus outbreak was an act of bioterror:

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/47651.htm

Most of us know that Leahy was one of the intended victims of the anthrax bioterrorist. Former Mayor Rudy Guiliani of New York had asked the CIA to determine if West Nile Virus was released as an act of bioterror in 1999

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Da...tis991010.html

At that time, the CDC pretty much pooh-poohed the idea but it doesn't look so far-fetched today. Many strains of West Nile Virus are fairly harmless to humans (such as the original strain discovered in 1937 in Uganda) -- guess we just got "lucky."

[Sue]

We've had 6 causes up here in my county in Pennsylvania, 1 died from it. They actually had my borough on the local news last night with the county going around checking peoples backyards for standing water and other breeding grounds. It's definately moving north.

[sadie]

Although I hate the extreme cold, verifier, let's hope for some of it this winter. Perhaps a few years of those will keep those nasty critters in check.