Another summertime outbreak could focus investor attention on the companies working to combat this disease -- and on their other promising products.
By Michael Brush
It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Unfortunately, so are you -- an easy target for mosquitoes and the West Nile virus they can carry.
As tragic and frightening as this virus is for hundreds of victims and their families each year, there are a couple of reassuring things to keep in mind about this dreaded disease, which can kill victims by making their brains swell.
As much as mosquitoes munch on us all summer, the chances are slim that any of us will actually get the virus. In a country of 290 million people, there were 9,862 confirmed cases and 264 deaths last year, primarily in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas and South Dakota.
Several companies are working on promising vaccines and cures, as well as better ways to screen the public blood supply for the virus.
First, the bad news
We'll look at those companies in a moment with an eye to investing. But first, some bad news.
West Nile may hit much harder this year, as it appears to be spreading to new states, including California, says Ray Parsons of MosquitoZone.com. Already, the state has reported 10 cases in 2004, and we aren’t even in the peak mosquito season of July and August. California reported just three cases through all of last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.Check out your options.
Find the best rate
before you borrow.
The disease may be much more widespread than the numbers suggest. Some experts think for every confirmed case of West Nile, which first showed up in the United States in a dead bird in the Bronx Zoo in 1999, there are several hundred unreported cases. Many people have West Nile virus and don’t know it, since the symptoms mimic those of the flu.
Next, there’s a chance this may be the year that the mosquito-borne virus starts to spread down through Mexico and Central America and through Europe. (One possible case was reported in France last year, so it looks like it is already on that continent.)
moneycentral.msn.com |
