Mosquitoes and Disease
Even with advanced medicine and technology, we aren’t necessarily safe from sometimes deadily diseases. For instance, the cases of the West Nile Virus have been steadily rising since 1999.
From 1999 through 2001, the CDC confirmed 149 cases of the human West Nile Virus infection, including 18 deaths. The most recent data in 2006, saw another increase, with 4,261 cases and 174 deaths. The cost of West Nile-related health care was estimated at $200 million in 2002.
Although there is no vaccine for this infection, you can still protect yourself by wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, light colored clothing, bug repellant, a bug hat, and using bug repellant candles. Hopefully, with increased protection, the cases of West Nile Virus will start to go down over the next few years.