West Nile Virus and the Harmful Mosquito essays

West Nile Virus and the Harmful Mosquito essays Every one knows how deadly and dangerous the West Nile mosquitoes are, from recent researches, news briefs, and newspaper headlines Boy drops dead with mysterious mosquito bites. This paper is going to get down to the bottom of this west Nile is the new boogieman thing, although this is no laughing matter people need to know the dangers of the west Nile mosquito. West Nile mosquitoes have complete metamorphosis. Their life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. They may lay the eggs singly or in rafts on water, on the sides of containers where water will soon cover, or on damp soil where they can hatch by rainwater or high tides. No one can be quite sure of how far the West Nile mosquito dates back, or where it dates back to, all people know is that the west Nile is here and attacking. It is said that West Nile virus originated in Uganda, but has not been proven true yet. While we are uncertain how West Nile virus arrived in the United States, the most likely explanation is that an infected bird that was imported, or an infected human returning from a country where the virus is common, or a mosquito hitchhiking on an airplane introduced the virus. Outbreaks of the West Nile virus have occurred before in Egypt, Asia, Israel, South Africa, and in some parts of Europe. West Nile virus was first found in the United States in New York City in the fall of 1999. During that outbreak, 61 people became ill. Seven people died of West Nile virus-related infections during this initial outbreak. Since its detection in the United States in 1999, the West Nile virus has been identified in more than 40 states. Among those individuals severely infected, more than 100 deaths have been recorded. Most infections with West Nile virus have been identified in wild birds, but the virus can also infect horses, dogs, cats, domestic rabbits, domestic birds as well as humans. West Nile virus is spread to humans by the ...