West Nile is a curiosity and perhaps a case study in the power of news media. Here's a virus that's responsible for perhaps two dozen deaths so far this year and yet the media has done its part to convince viewers that this is the beginning of a plague that's going to end civilization as we know it. On the other hand, normal run-of-the-mill influenza kills between 20 and 30 THOUSAND US citizens per year (mortality rate in the US in 1997 was around 13 deaths per 100,000) yet when flu season starts, you don't see the news outlets spouting story after story of impending doom like they have for West Nile. West Nile is something new while the flu is old school.
I guess part of the hysteria is that you can contract West Nile by just stepping out your front door but that doesn't excuse the behavior of the news media on this issue. It's like the shark attack "frenzy" last year or the year before...for a period of a month or two viewers were suddenly bombarded with enough shark attack stories to make them think sharks had suddenly decided to issue a smack-down to humanity. How often do you see mention of shark attacks on the news now? Do you think that sharks of the world have suddenly called a cease-fire?
If you're already in poor health, then West Nile is a concern (just like flu or any other infection would be a concern) but if you're healthy, your time is probably better spent worrying about things like poor drivers.
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