Today in class we did a simulation of the west nile virus. It was very informative. I had no idea that west nile virus was a disease that lives primarily in birds. It only kills some birds, a lot can harbor the disease and will be a permanent reservoir. The way it gets to humans is through mosquitoes. The mosquitoes bite the birds and almost always become infected, the infected mosquitoes then come and bite humans. Humans typically only come down with very mild symptoms but they can occasionally develop serious neurological issues. This usually results in death. West nile virus has only been documented in the United states since 1999, so it has been in the country for less than 20 years. It was first documented in New York and quickly spread throughout the country. The reason it was able to spread so quick is because no one realized that birds were the reservoir for the virus. This virus is also really prominent is Massachusetts. Something that I was totally unaware of. I wasn’t aware that the virus was relatively not that bad for humans to contract. I believe only 1 in 100 people suffer serious side effects from it. Regardless the disease is scary because of the way it spreads and because of the fact that it will always have a reservoir.
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