With Environment Canada predicting
a monumental extension of summer well into October, Canadians
aren't out of the woods yet when it comes to summer ills.
The nation is in the midst of its fourth summer of West
Nile virus (WNV). Notwithstanding the often serious symptoms
of those afflicted with West Nile Neurological Syndrome,
it hasn't gone unnoticed that WNV has received publicity
disproportionate to its impact. Ever since it first arrived
from Africa and, as the CBC put it, "began raining birds
down from the skies," the media (and some public health
departments) have had a bad case of West Nile. Ontario's
$2.8 million ad campaign featuring gardeners bundled up
like astronauts left many health professionals shaking
their heads.
JUST
DOING THEIR JOBS?
Public health officials duly note that they have a responsibility
to fully inform the public about health risks, but with
West Nile there's been a tendency to overstate the risk.
For example, media sensationalism in the US (where WNV
is more common than in Canada) is so great that the
Harvard School of Public Health found that 33% of Americans
in mosquito-infested areas thought that they or a family
member were likely to fall prey to the virus during
summer 2004. In reality, statistics from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in
2002, Mississippi (one of the hardest-hit states) saw
just 1.7 infections per 100,000 people statewide, and
eight per 100,000 in the hardest-hit county.
Dr Gordon Searle, a dermatologist
in Edmonton, attributes much of the hype to the marketing
of insect repellents. "Nowadays, anything that's used
as an insect repellent will always mention West Nile
in its advertising," he says. However, he also thinks
the randomness of WNV has contributed to the panic response.
"A lot of people can have a positive West Nile serology
and have no symptoms," he says. "But there are some
people who get severely affected and there doesn't appear
to be any predisposing factors for who's more likely
to get it."
In Canada, only about 1% of people
bitten by an infected mosquito fall seriously ill. Of
that 1%, one in ten may die - odds that increase with
age and infirmity. In comparison, both traffic accidents
and the common flu bug ended more lives last year. This
year, only one case of human WNV was found as of August
12 � a 45-year-old-woman in Windsor, Ontario. Compare
that to 166 cases last year. But WNV's long incubation
period means it's a little too early to celebrate. As
well, in much of Canada, colder than usual summer weather
through July kept the mosquitoes at bay. "In Edmonton,
we haven't had much of a mosquito population this summer
because of the weather, but now after a wet spell we're
starting to see a lot of them," says Dr Searle.
Taking measures to protect against
WNV remains a wise thing to do, but it mightn't hurt
to remind one's patients that spraying DEET into an
infested eavestroughing from a teetering ladder poses
a statistically greater health risk.
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