West Nile buzz: Quiet so far
By this time last year, Florida's public health officials worried that the right mix of hot weather, heavy rains and infected birds might lead to an active West Nile virus season. But human cases of the mosquito-borne illness -- although substantial elsewhere in the United States -- largely skirted Florida in 2006, and may do the same thing again this year. "It's been a quiet year, so far," said Walter Tabachnick, director of the University of Florida's Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach, citing the need for a perfect mesh of several factors for an active season to occur. View More
By this time last year, Florida's public health officials worried that the right mix of hot weather, heavy rains and infected birds might lead to an active West Nile virus season. But human cases of the mosquito-borne illness -- although substantial elsewhere in the United States -- largely skirted Florida in 2006, and may do the same thing again this year. "It's been a quiet year, so far," said Walter Tabachnick, director of the University of Florida's Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach, citing the need for a perfect mesh of several factors for an active season to occur. View More