Fogging crews are prepared to go out in full force in the city of Winnipeg after a dead crow was found with West Nile Virus. West nile has also been confirmed in Ontario in the last few weeks. It seems unlikely that the spraying for mosquitoes will kill only mosquitoes, so Winnipeg might also become a bee free zone, a butterfly free zone, and just generally sterilized after the complete fogging of the city.

West Nile virus first appeared in North America in New York in 1999, where about 60 people became seriously ill, and 6 died. Over the course of the last three years it has been spreading west ward, and has been detected in Monitoba, which is just above North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States. Both Manitoba, Minnesota, and other states in the Central Corn Belt of the United States were flooded all winter long (including the coldest months of the year, such as January) and then flooded even more during the spring, a truly bizarre weather pattern I can never remember seeing before (in particular deep winter flooding, which I observed all winter, and found to be quite weird). The resulting soggy bog is perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and by an unhappy coincidence the West Nile virus has also pushed this far west this year, making for a particularly nasty combination for those most vulnerable to the diesease. (The flooded areas this spring are in green on the map above, and the flooding extended into Canada to the north, causing some agricultural disasters in Manitoba, a counter point to the wide spread drought to the west and north.) West Nile causes encephalitis in birds and humans (swelling of the brain). According to data about one per cent of mosquitoes in infected areas carry the virus, and only one per cent of people bitten by infected bugs will develope symptoms (the rest will develope antibodies). Most at risk are the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

Traditionally Winnipeg had an opt out policy when it came to mosquitoe fogging, with entire neighbourhoods or just individual property owners being able to declare themselves fog free, but this year the policy is being overruled, and everything with six legs and wings is going down for the count in the city. Some residents are apparently planning to leave during the fogging, while others are planning a law suit to see if it is not possible to get an injunction to stop the fogging.



Currently I do not have information on West Nile fogging and West Nile testing in the neighbouring bogs of central America, but given their proximity to Winnipeg, and the flooding they have shared with Manitoba this year, it seems likely that the virus is present there as well, although, to be realistic here, it is unlikely that there is enough bug fog in the country to fog that many square miles. For example, Minnesota alone covers 90,000 square miles, and the extent of the flooding all told well over half a million square miles. So it seems that despite the best efforts the West Nile virus is here to stay. Fortunately at the moment it is not a full scale plague, with only an average of one per cent of mosquitoes living long enough, and biting enough birds (or people) in their short life span to become carriers.

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