Who Had West Nile Virus On Their 2020 Insanity Bingo Card?!
I swear, the whole world is in a weirdo science experiment/TV show/petri dish. Between the pandemic, murder hornets, wildfires, drought, and lord knows what else, 2020 has been full of apocalyptic surprises. And of course, not to be outdone, Maine has recorded it's first case of West Nile Virus since 2018.
I remember in the early 2000's, West Nile was all anyone talked about. It was the total panic button of that summer. But let's back up a second... West Nile Virus comes from mosquitoes, and could be pretty dangerous. And it can also be spread to mammals and birds just as easily, according to WABI - TV5.
An adult from Cumberland County was diagnosed and hospitalized this week, according to the Maine CDC. We hadn't seen a case this year or last, but the virus has been detected in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Given the close proximity, it's no big surprise that we've had a southern Maine case.
But now the CDC is reminding folks that mosquito season may not be quite over. Usually there's not much to worry about after the second frost of the season. But I also, at least anecdotally, disagree. Last winter, if we had any kind of warm day I saw one or two. Like, in February and March. My wife was witness this as well.
So my point is, I'm not sure we ever reeeally get rid of mosquitoes anymore. Sort of like ticks. Although, we may at least see a slight reprieve from them because of the drought. Ticks need a lot of moisture to survive, and that just hasn't been a thing in Maine this summer. But trust me... they're not gone.
So it looks like we all ought to be wearing long sleeves and bug dope. It's not too bad this time of year for long sleeves, but it still seems weird to be putting on bug dope in late October. You gotta do what you gotta do, though. 2020 seems like it's far from done with us, and we'll just have to see what excitement 2021 brings. Ooof.