West Nile Virus has hit California with a vengence.
Uncorrected, raw, statistically questionable numbers say that Los Angeles Co. is suffering the most: 165 infected humans, 763 dead birds, 281 'mosquito pools' (wtf), and 50 viral-bearing sentinel chickens. We in Alameda and San Francisco Counties remain relatively unaffected with a total of 6 dead birds and (this gives me peace) NO reported infections in sentinel chickens or humans.
In general, the epidemic appears to be clustering in the southern part of the state (the counties of Kern, Los Angeles, Fresno, San Berrardino, and Riverside). These counties are the republican strongholds in this state. Could it be that being republican is a risk factor for becoming infected with West Nile Virus? This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the only two northern counties with reports of human infections (Butte and Lassen) are also strongly republican.
The above argument is an example of how statistics can be used in bad, self-benefiting, 'other-blaming' ways. Correlation is not equivalent to causation. (The AIDS epidemic did not originally cluster among gay men because god deamed them sinners deserving of suffering.) The West Nile epidemic is probably focused in the aforementioned areas because of common ecology or an older age structure in the populations living in these regions etc, etc.
But from the looks of things, West Nile is definitely heading northward. My advice to you? Clean up those pools of water in your homes and get some screens in your windows. Or just live on without worry. If you're between the ages of 13-65 and not immunocompromised, you'll probably fight off the infection anyway.
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Before signing off, let us take a moment to bow our heads in thanks for sentinel chickens throughout the state and world. These brave little birds are the true warriors of publich health, offering their lives so that we might save ours.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
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5 comments:
Our love for sentinel chickens seems to ring hollow when we hold them in little camps - a la Manzanar. Myself, I have more love for the chickens that give their lives every day so that they can serve me as chicken patties or nuggets. mmmMMMMmmm...finger-lickin' good!
And speaking as a resident of IL where WNV has been old news for years, it is no big deal. I am curious however, whether WNV finally reaching CA will cause a resurgence in interest due to the large media presence out there. Anyone want to bet on a slough of WNV-inspired disaster scripts hitting the studios in the next few months?
Chicken patties are good for many reasons. Grrbear has a pretty good story about one patty and some dental floss. Or was that string? Throw in an Indian guy and a flashlight and you get some pretty big laughs.
I'm glad I figured out who you are, Grrbear. You are most fantastic!
It was dental floss. Those were the days...
And J.Po herself is quite the finger-painter - even in sweatshop conditions.
Does this mean I'm no longer "a mysterious stranger" or "that weirdo who keeps posting in my blog"? =)
No worries, Grrbear. You are still a weirdo who posts on my blog.
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