West Nile Virus and Evolution
As I write this, it is not yet August in 2013. Summer in North America is well under way. Many areas in the United States have had saturating rainfall. That leads to standing water. Which, in turn, become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. And mosquitoes are the deadliest creature on Earth, since they carry so many diseases.
The key word in "West Nile Virus" is virus. That means there is no cure. Fortunately, the conditions needed to infect a person are comparatively small, and most people do not exhibit symptoms.
The key word in "West Nile Virus" is virus. That means there is no cure. Fortunately, the conditions needed to infect a person are comparatively small, and most people do not exhibit symptoms.
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| Credit: Freeimages / Gabor Bibor |
However, the West Nile Virus can be fatal in humans. Take precautions against being bitten, willya?
Evolutionists offer explanations that do not make sense about the actions of the virus, and about natural selection; humans and other animals are "dead ends", because the virus cannot be passed along. Also, although the virus has mutated, it has not mutated into a non-virus.
Evolutionists offer explanations that do not make sense about the actions of the virus, and about natural selection; humans and other animals are "dead ends", because the virus cannot be passed along. Also, although the virus has mutated, it has not mutated into a non-virus.
Because West Nile virus does not multiply as successfully in humans or horses as in birds, mosquitoes do not ordinarily ingest a sufficient quantity of virus to get infected when they bite infected people or horses. Many birds are “amplifying reservoirs” during their infectious period, however, and Culex mosquitoes biting them get infected and become infectious.
You can read the rest in context, see the images, click the supporting links, by clicking "Special Report: West Nile Virus—Will It Strike the States Hard Again?"
West Nile virus, first diagnosed in Uganda in 1937, only arrived in North America in 1999. Like many immigrants, it started its American adventure in New York City and rapidly progressed across the continent. With outbreaks in California and the western Plains and Rocky Mountain States in 2002, it has since spread to the 48 contiguous United States. The massive outbreak in 2012, which killed 286 in the United States alone, showed the disease is here to stay. Will this summer’s heavy rainfall lead to an encore performance? Does this virus constitute an evolving predator of some sort? What should we expect, and how can we protect ourselves?