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A genetic mutation may be the reason why only one-fifth of the people who are infected with West Nile virus go on to develop symptoms, and only one-fifth of this group develop a severe, and often fatal, brain inflammation. A team at the Institut Pasteur in Paris studied mice infected with the virus and found that all those that died quickly had a mutation in a gene that encodes a set of enzymes that destroy viruses in infected cells. The gene is common to all vertebrates, and the human version is very similar to that found in mice.
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New research shows that house sparrows may be an majorsource of the West Nile virus, and the virus can multiplyinside the birds without killing them. This means thedisease could be as close as your bird feeder, and you’dhave no way of knowing it.

Most infected sparrows become immune to West Nile within 5days, meaning the virus dies inside their bodies. When thishappens, mosquitoes that bite the birds can no longer spreadthe virus to other animals and humans, but until then, thebirds are dangerous.
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It’s getting downright dangerous to venture outside. Ticksare abundant and mosquito-borne West Nile virus is sweepingthe U.S. Two infected dead crows were even found on theWhite House lawn.

West Nile virus first turned up in New York, but it’s nowmoving south, especially to Louisiana, where 16 people havecome down with the disease. After major rains and flooding,which can attract mosquitoes, the disease has turned up inTexas as well. Several cases are suspected in Mississippi,Oklahoma and North Dakota.

“It is going to be here to stay,” says Daniel O’Leary, ofthe Centers for Disease Control. “We are going to have tolive with it in our midst.”
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One feared effect of a warmer climate has been the northward movement of tropical pests like the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Now the mosquito, which spreads dengue fever and sometimes even the deadly yellow fever appears to have made it to Tempe, Arizona. County health officials caught the mosquito, known as Aedes aegypti, in traps a couple miles away from where an entomologist first spotted the insects and contacted health officials.

The mosquito’s appearance marks the first time the species has been identified this far north. Until now, the mosquito was found only as far north as Tucson. It is common in Central and South America.
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