West Nile Virus: Are Hemorrhagic-Encephalitis-Mosquito Borne Illnesses Spreading Globally

West Nile Virus is a zoonotic arbovirus that belongs to the flavivirus genus, in the flavivindae family of Mosquito-borne viral infections. Approximately 80% of West Nile virus infections in humans have no symptoms.The cases that are symptomatic are called West Nile Fever, in cases without neurological disease. Symptoms may include fever, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches & pain with a general malaise, nausea, anorexia, vomiting, myalgias and rash. Less than 1% of the cases are severe and result in neurological disease when the central nervous system is affected, and that is termed West Nile Hemorrhagic Fever. West Nile Virus infections are at an all time high in the United States, with 5,207 reported cases in the U.S. with 234 deaths. This total is twice as many as for the previous 3 years, 2009, 2010, and 2011, the total of the 3 being 2,453 cases reported, with 132 deaths occurring. Can the rise in the Earth’s median temperature be to blame? The Planet Earth is warming up, and as Global temperatures rise, threats to food s ecurity from decreased crop yields are a distinct possibility.

Some interesting facts to consider.
The average combined global land and ocean surface temperature for June 2012 was 1.13 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average of 59.9 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the fourth warmest June on record. Temperature for June 2012 was the all-time warmest June on record, at 2.34 degrees Fahrenheit above average. The globally-averaged land surface temperature for June 2012 was also the all-time warmest June on record, at 1.93 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Global Warming is happening, witness the Greenland Ice sheet melt-off this year. The Arctic Ocean and the Continent of Antarctica are melting at a frenetic pace as well. But what does this mean for our planet? Let’s look at one potential problem.
Mosquito borne illnesses. The spread of the West Nile Virus in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions, and proliferation of mosquito borne illnesses like Dengue Fever and Malaria is a cause for concern among the leading health organizations, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, and the World Health Organization, WHO. Now scientist’s and naysayers can debate the causes of Global Warming until they are blue in the face, regardless of its causes, it is happening.