Jan.
30, 2013 — Washington State University researchers have linked orchards
and vineyards with a greater prevalence of West Nile virus in mosquitoes and
the insects' ability to spread the virus to birds, horses and people.
The
finding, reported in the latest issue of the journal PLOS ONE, is the most finely scaled look at the interplay between
land use and the virus's activity in key hosts. By giving a more detailed
description of how the disease moves across the landscape, the study opens the
door to management efforts that might bring the disease under control, says
David Crowder, a WSU entomologist and the paper's lead author.
Since
it was first seen in New York in 1999, West Nile virus has reached across the
country and shown few signs of abating. Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control had the highest number of reported cases -- 5,387, including 243 deaths
-- since 2003.
Roughly
one in five infected people experience a fever, headache, body aches and, in
some cases, a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. One in 150 people can get a
high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation and neurological problems.
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