Essay On West Nile Virus

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Stopping The West Nile Virus
In 2002 the West Nile Virus was found in 38 states and killed 188 people before the year was over. The West Nile Virus has existed in Africa for thousands of years infecting wildlife and people, but it has been affecting people more than ever these past few decades. The West Nile virus is transmitted into humans and wildlife through mosquito bites. In the past vaccines and pesticides have been used to control these types of issues, but this virus isn’t as simple. In order to prevent people and animals from getting infected by the West Nile Virus it is necessary to control the population of mosquitoes, create a non-toxic pesticide spray, and make sure a West Nile Vaccine available to the victims of the virus.
The West Nile Virus is a powerful disease that has made a big impact on Americans. Phillip Margulies states in his book that the West Nile Virus is a vector-borne virus, which means the virus comes from a bloodsucking insect or in this case a mosquito. The virus travels in the body of an infected bird or insect and gets into humans through mosquito bites (Margulies,41). The humans and animals that are infected can become very ill or just experience a …show more content…

Brian Hoyle’s article on the West Nile Virus explains some of the minor symptoms the virus carries. Beginning 3-15 days after the mosquito bite symptoms like fever, body aches, chills, and headaches can appear (Hoyle 2014). These symptoms are minor and don’t last long. Mayo Clinic’s article on the other hand, discusses the more severe symptoms. Neurological effects like swelling of brain tissue and and/or spinal cord can be permanent and some of those cases resulted in death (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Many people have sadly lost their lives to this disease there needs to be a way to prevent it from harming more people. Some believe that lowering the population of mosquitoes there is less of a chance for this disease to further

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