West Nile may be mutating, expert says -- 'Something peculiar' about 4 U.S. deaths

National Post ^ | August 3, 2002 | Brad Evenson

[Mitchell]

West Nile virus ping.

[The Duke]

West Nile Virus - unintended consequence of "free trade"?

[null and void]

West Nile Virus - unintended consequence of "free trade"?

One of them. Anyone for 6 month quarentines on all travellers???

[max61]

Anything that hangs around Louisiana long enough will mutate, the state is a petro-chemical dump.

---max

[MSSC6644]

Experts believe this strain arrived from the Middle East.

Hmmm.

[KevinDavis]

Experts believe this strain arrived from the Middle East.

I think the current West Nile outbreak is a bio terror attack.

[aristeides]

Dr. Desjardins says this may be because the virus is a "foreign" invader. "You have to keep in mind that where this virus is traditionally seen, in North Africa and the Mediterranean, there's a certain amount of exposure to it and people have a level of immunity.

That wouldn't explain why the NYC outbreak -- or the outbreak here in the D.C. area, for that matter -- have been so mild.

[cousair]

I do too!! No press has written that it might be, so far, but why not, considering where it has come from? What better way than to make people sick and then watch it spread across the country!

[FITZ]

Experts believe this strain arrived from the Middle East.

Hmmmm....probably just some bird that few in from a Palestinian neighborhood.

[FITZ]

flew

[Centurion2000]

Time for DDT to come back in a BIG way.

[Dave S]

Anyone for 6 month quarentines on all travellers???

It takes customs six months to check each traveler for mosquitos? You must be joking. The disease is spread by mosquitos, not humans.

[Clinging Bitterly]

> Time for DDT to come back

Beat me to it - DDT bump.

Dave in Eugene

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Possible.

[StriperSniper]

The headline seems a bit alarmist for the content of the article.

[rubbertramp]

Sadaam Hussein was spotted unleashing mosquitoes down on Bourbon Street. Time to take out the big spraying guns...cover everything with Malathion. It's what Rudy would do.;-)

[Dick Vomer]

DDT.... that'll hurt the environment won't it...?

[Clinging Bitterly]

The small birds and bats that used to flock around here are mostly gone. This change happened long after DDT was banned.

Wetlands are the current shrine upon which the local enviro-officialdom worships. My neighborhood is surrounded by mosquito farms purposely built by the government. There are way more bugs around these parts than the birds need, yet there are no birds, except for a few ducks. DDT wouldn't hurt a durn thing.

Dave in Eugene

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

You got it.. DEET!

If you can stand the smell, Skin so soft by Avon is another thing that works really well. We all used to use it in Alaska when we were fishing. I could even take off my face net. They sell it on quite a few street corners there during the summer. We use it here in California when the skeets are bad. But I really hate the smell of it. Evidently so do the misquito's. :o)