West Nile vies with CWD for worst effect By Curt Andersen News-Chronicle While Wisconsinites wring their hands over chronic wasting disease, we have a bigger problem on the horizon - actually closer than the horizon. CWD has disrupted hunting traditions and affected the income of hunting-associated businesses across the state. But the really important issue may be West Nile virus. The West Nile strain that has emerged in our area is much more virulent than the strain that hit the East Coast in 1999. A Dec. 18 article in HealthCanada.com stated that this year's West Nile virus has infected more than 3,700 people, has caused more than 2,500 cases of encephalitis and meningitis, and has killed 230 across the country, including five deaths just this week in Louisiana. Only five states have not yet recorded any cases. In Canada, there have been more than 200 reported cases of West Nile virus, mostly in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. Meningitis and encephalitis are infections of the brain, spinal cord or membranes. The infection can cause headaches, stiff neck, fever, disorientation and tremors. According to the article, only one in every 150-200 people who are bitten become seriously ill. Another 20 or so get the less troublesome West Nile fever, which is more like our standard flu. Ten percent of encephalitis patients die. Others are left with brain damage or paralysis. A CDC map of human infections shows 44 positive cases in Wisconsin as of Nov. 30, including four in Brown County, two in Outagamie County and one each in Manitowoc, Florence and Winnebago counties. A CDC map of bird infections shows that nearly every county in the state has recorded infections. Since birds live in the out-of-doors where they are more likely to be bitten, this has grave implications for other animals. A veterinary map shows that animals have tested positive for infection in an area that covers a good third of the contiguous 48 states, from Ohio west to Wyoming, and from the southern tip of Texas to the northern boundary of Minnesota. There have been more than 14,000 positive infections in horses through Nov. 20. In the Milwaukee Zoo, nearly half of the endangered Humboldt penguins have died from West Nile. Blood banks in Minnesota, Iowa, and Ohio are returning supplies of unused blood that had been donated in late summer and fall when West Nile was more active. Patients who got transfusions of that blood have a slight risk of getting the disease. There are many questions about the course of this disease. Will the birds that survived this summer's West Nile infection be able to pass on their resistance to their chicks? Will dogs, cats, beavers, muskrats, chipmunks, horses and people be able to pass on their resistance? Will a warm and wet summer wreak havoc with our tourism industry? Will we be trapped in our homes this summer? Is it more important to consider CWD, that might cause problems 20-40 years in the future or one that is killing people right now? A poll of readers of the Green Bay Press-Gazette in August showed that 32.9 percent of the 717 voters indicated they were taking extra precautions, while 57.2 percent of respondents thought the West Nile virus issue was "blown out of proportion." Some of our neighbors may be wishing they had taken the issue seriously. Andersen is a lifelong resident of the Green Bay area and a Navy veteran. He owns a small business and is an adjunct instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. He is vice president of Clean Water Action Council. His column runs Wednesdays. Write to him via e-mail at [email protected].