Look at any state or local website run by a public health authority and you will see information, glaring warnings, about the the dangers of West Nile virus. West Nile is an illness transmitted by mosquitoes that has been seen in humans in the United States for about 12 years. It’s an import, from overseas.

While searching for information about whooping cough, pertussis, case numbers on various sites I began to notice the “West Nile panic“. Lots of information about West Nile but far less about illnesses, serious illnesses with much larger case numbers.

Here are some case number examples from the CDC MMWR week 35 report for September 5, 2010.

In 2007, Michigan reported 392 cases of AIDS, 4,191 cases of Chickenpox, 292 cases of Whooping Cough and 17 of West Nile.

For that same year, New York State, including New York City, reported 3,984 cases of AIDS, did not report chickenpox and 22 cases of West Nile.

Massachusetts reported, for 2007, 602 new cases of HIV, 1,178 cases of Whooping Cough and six cases of West Nile.

Is the allocation of scarce public health resources to massive West Nile educational campaigns a wise choice? Looking at the case numbers for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in the table suggest at least one place where educational dollars might be better used. The outbreaks of Whooping Cough and Mumps in 2009 and 2010 certainly could have been reduced with funding for more immunizations clinics.

Do public health agencies serve the interests of the taxpayers? Billions of dollars have been spent on illnesses such as SARS, bird flu, anthrax and smallpox, and are now being spent on West Nile. Is that protecting the public?

The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) function as the national public health authority. Within the Centers is the Division of Vector Borne Infectious Diseases (DVBID). Its mission is to provide, at the national level, surveillance, research, diagnostic testing and assistance to state, local and foreign governments with regard to vector borne diseases. Those are illnesses carried by mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and other animals that can be transmitted to humans.

The budget for the DVBID in 2010 was $26.7 million. That line has been defunded in the Administration’s 2011 proposal, with $18.9 million added to the emerging infectious diseases area…

The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) has called for restoration of the funding for DVBID. Edward T. Ryan, M.D., President of the ASTMH, spoke with me recently about this issue.

This is the division that works on dengue fever, malaria, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, spotted fever and all the other illnesses we get from bug bites.

More at Budget cuts at CDC threaten efforts on bug borne diseases

While the media is focused on pandemic Swine Flu, here along America’s North Shore, we must be wary of other diseases. Here are several articles to remind us all about them.

West Nile virus season returns

It looks like another wet summer for the Rochester, N.Y. and the Monroe County area. Wet summers mean mosquitoes. Mosquitoes mean the West Nile virus is again a threat in the region.

The West Nile virus was first discovered in central Africa in 1937. It was studied and characterized in Egypt in the 1950′s, hence the name. It was first discovered in the United States in 1999, and has been found in every state but Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon.

Rabies and upstate wildlife

Rabies. The name conjures images of large dogs foaming at the mouth and tearing their victims to shreds. In reality, wildlife are the primary sources of rabies and attacks on humans by rabid animals.

On July 16 a seven year old boy and his grandfather were attacked, separately, by a fox at the grandparent’s home in Webster. The grandfather shot and killed the fox during the second attack and a laboratory later confirm that it was rabid.

Plague still to be feared

A second man has died from plague in the city of Ziketan, in northern China. The local authorities have quarantined about ten people who were exposed to either of the dead men.

Plague is the Black Death. It decimated cities and countrysides, and entire nations as it swept across the continent in repeated waves. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggests that it killed one third of the population of Europe, 30 million people, in the 1300′s. In the mid 1800′s it killed 12 million Chinese.

This is something the Army has done for generations. In Cuba, Panama, Italy and now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Kim Johnson, light wheeled mechanic, 345th Medical Detachment, collects one of many bug traps set up throughout Victory Base Complex. The traps are monitored daily to give Vector Control an idea of where the highest populations of mosquitoes and sand flies are located. (U.S. Army photo/Spc. Samuel J. Phillips)

The childhood song ‘Shoo fly, don’t bother me’ might make light of the annoyance of pesky insects, but, in Iraq, insects can be much more than an annoyance. Mosquitoes and sand flies can carry harmful diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus and leishmaniasis. Soldiers are battling these miniature invaders on Victory Base Complex.

Vector Control is one of the primary combatants in the ongoing struggle against potentially harmful pests.

“We set out traps to locate breeding areas and areas of high population,” said 1st Lt. Erik S. Foster, entomologist, 345th Medical Detachment. “Once we find the areas, we get with KBR Vector Control, so they can conduct spraying or fogging to bring the problem area under control.”

Kellogg Brown & Root uses truck-mounted foggers called ultra low volume foggers that emit a very small amount of pesticide, harmless to humans, but fatal to insects, Foster said.

“The problem is this is only effective against adults in the air and must be repeated three or four days in a row to impact the insect population.”

ULVs are not the only weapon in Vector Control’s arsenal. They also treat stagnant water, the breeding place for many insects, with larvacide.

“There are many kinds of larvacides available,” Foster said, “there are ones designed to inhibit growth of the larva so that they will never malt into adults, or there are ones that simply kill the larva before they have the chance to reach maturity.”

However, Vector Control Soldiers are not the only ones with the ability to battle against insects.

“Soldiers can protect themselves by using bug repellents and treating there uniforms in the ‘shake and bake’ kits provided to them before deployment,” Foster said. “The truth is most people don’t use repellents.”

The bad news is that the insect population is just starting to emerge.

“When it really starts to get hot, its going to get bad,” Foster said. “We are doing everything we can to keep the populations at a reasonable level.”

DVIDS
By Spc. Samuel J. Phillips
Multi-National Corps – Iraq