On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 09:57:27 GMT, "Bill C."
wrote:

They all become dead (and our water loses its filter) when we run around
draining all the wetland. West Nile affects just the birds in that group.
Funny think Ingrid, I don't consider myself an environmentalist in the more
recent sense of the word, but this trend drives me crazy.

wrote
yeah.. wonder if all of them are susceptible to west nile too. Ingrid

"Bill C." wrote:
Pity the poor frogs, newts,
salamanders, fishes, waterfowl

West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes and affects many species,
incl. humans. It can be fatal. This isn't (much) justification for
wholesale pesticide spraying or (has anyone actually suggested this?!)
draining all wetlands, but it is *not* an inconsequential problem. I
live in a wetland-rich (read "damp") area where mosquitoes are a
perennial problem and widespread aerial spraying is done every year.
The spraying schedule is announced ahead of time, and beekeepers are
advised when to protect their hives. I guess butterflies just have to
listen to the news and dive under a leaf. West Nile has been ID'd
here, as well as many cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which also
(rarely) affects humans. Like so many of life's problems, there are
few simple solutions.