Is West Nile virus Saddam's revenge? [Archive]

Kel Varnsen - Latex Division

05-24-2004, 12:34 AM

This has to be the craziest thing I read in a long time.

[QUOTE]Some U.S. health officials are beginning to question why the U.S. strain of West Nile virus is deadlier to humans and birds than anywhere else on the planet – with the exception of Israel.

While some American intelligence sources are still suspicious about claims that Saddam Hussein had an active chemical and biological weapons program, others believe he unleashed that program on the U.S. in the form of West Nile virus.

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Is it possible one of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction has actually been deployed against us? Did Iraq have the ability to deliver such a biological weapon?

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There is increasing suspicion that one of his labs was not in Iraq at all – but less than 50 miles from the Florida coast. Cuban defectors say that Fidel Castro's Biological Front studied ways of using migratory birds to spread infectious diseases to the U.S. Saddam Hussein was also known to have close ties to Castro. And, according to Soviet defector Ken Alibek, Cuba, Iraq, Iran and other countries simultaneously received transfers of Soviet biotechnology.

/QUOTE]

Wow.

Read the whole article:

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38623

Broomstick

05-24-2004, 07:12 AM

Some U.S. health officials are beginning to question why the U.S. strain of West Nile virus is deadlier to humans and birds than anywhere else on the planet – with the exception of Israel.
Some? How many is "some"? Three? Five? Are these "officials" trained medical personnel or appointed political flunkies? What are their credentials?

Though no human cases of the bird virus have been confirmed yet this year, the U.S. has tracked 6,000 cases in the last two years – along with 550 deaths.
The only cases being tracked are those that wind up in the hospital. It is quite possible that a couple hundred thousand people a year are infected and either display no symptoms or only mild symptoms that may not even require them to take time off work.

An absolute number needs to be considered in contect - 550 deaths out of a population of a couple hundred million is actually quite small. Flu kills far more people every year. Heatstroke kills more people every year. Heart disease, diabetes, and accidents kill far more people every year.

Interestingly, the U.S. strain appears almost identical to only one other strain in the world – the one found in Israel.
Since there is some traffic back and forth between Isreal and the US it is quite possible the initial source of US infection was a person or animal moving from Isreal to the US.

In most parts of the world where it has surfaced, the virus typically causes illness akin to the flu, bringing fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue – unpleasant, but rarely fatal. The virus has not even proven fatal to all birds in other parts of the world. But the U.S. strain appears nearly 100 percent fatal to birds. They usually die within five days.
Weehocky. We've had West Nile in my area for several years now. We still have birds. We still have crows and jays which are the hardest hit of all birds. It is NOT 100% fatal in birds. Among domestic birds there have been instances of birds falling ill and recovering.

I'm also surprised they didn't mention the toll West Nile has taken on horses.

Despite the risk to public health, West Nile virus is not a danger to most individuals. Researchers believe that out of 150 people infected with the virus, 120 people won't feel sick at all.
As I said, the ordinary flu virus is a more impressive causer of illness and death - but no one's blaming anyone for the existence of the flu.

There is increasing suspicion that one of his labs was not in Iraq at all – but less than 50 miles from the Florida coast. Cuban defectors say that Fidel Castro's Biological Front studied ways of using migratory birds to spread infectious diseases to the U.S. Saddam Hussein was also known to have close ties to Castro.
Yes, well, West Nile virus was first reported in the US in New York City, NOT the southern United States. NYC is an entry point for foreign illnesses to the US because of the large number of international travelers and immigrants passing through the city. With the largest population of Jews in the United States, and the amount of travel between NYC and Isreal, the appearance of West Nile in NYC is entirely consistent with a traveler picking up the disease in Isreal, coming back to New York, and mosquitoes spreading it from there.

One entomology expert who maintains an open mind on the West Nile outbreak, Dr. Jonathan F. Day of the University of Florida, said: "The sporadic appearance of WNV is disturbing, especially its appearance in the Florida Keys. It really appears that WN has been seeded throughout the eastern half of the United States. I guess the question is, by whom?"
Entomology - the study of insects. Well, that's nice. Does he know anything about migratory bird routes? Epidemiology in humans? What is this man's field of expertise?

Again, WNV first appeared in New York in this country. Mosquito transmission between humans and migratory birds is not only possible but highly likely. Migratory birds migrate all up and down the East Coast - spreading the virus. No doubt the mobility of the humans accounts for much of the east-west spread.

None of this requires a direct human agent or premeditation. It's entirely consistent with how a disease spreads when introduced to a new area.

Day continued, "The Florida and East Coast situations relative to human cases are remarkable. In some places, Atlanta, the Florida Keys, WNV appeared in humans without any other indication that the virus was present. In some cases, humans are acting as sentinels for the sentinel (animal carriers). This is unlike any other mosquito-borne virus in North America."
Really? I'd trust this statement a whole lot more if it came out of the mouth of someone whose main focus was disease and not insects.

What will be blamed on Saddam next? Dutch elm disease? Asian long-horned beetle infestations? Get a grip. WNV is no different than the introduction of measles and smallpox to North America - someone sick with the disease showed up on shore and it spread from there. This is not a new phenomena. Also, in previously unexposed populations a new disease is typically more virulent. WNV is also following that pattern. When it first shows up you have one or two cases, in a year or two it becomes a serious blip on the radar with many people and animals falling ill, the death rate peaks, and in succeeding years the rate of infection/illness drops as the survivors are immune. After an initial upsurge the East Coast is seeing a leveling-off of cases and severity, but as you go west you find areas still experiencing the intial upsurge.

The CDC has been reporting on West Nile for many years now - I'm sure if you hit their website you can get this information.

Frankly, with 120 out of 150 infected people not showing any symptoms at all, WNV makes a pretty poor terrorist weapon.