WEST NILE

About the Book

In the summer of 1999, an epidemic of a mysterious brain disease smashed into New York City and severely affected over 60 people. Seven of its victims died. The virus at the centre of this firestorm, known as the West Nile Virus, had not previously been seen in the Americas, its trans-Atlantic leap continues to puzzle scientists.  West Nile virus, the agent itself being a Flavivirus, is widespread in Africa - first isolated in Uganda - and has been known to invade Europe. The first serious epidemic outside of Africa occurred in Romania in 1996.

In August of 1999, just before people began dying, crows in New York City fell from the sky in large numbers.  This apocalyptic event ushered in a new era of public health alarm - the crows became sentinels for the first wave of West Nile infection, and now, the virus is carried in over 20 species of birds and the virus has spread from New York.  

The appearance of the West Nile Virus in New York is considered by epidemiologists to be a water-shed event.  There is no cure or vaccine for the disease.  Thus the answers as to why it suddenly occurred in the Americas is a subject of intense debate. However, an unexplored tenable theory rests within massive global trade in exotic birds, many of them coming to the Americas from parts of the world where the West Nile virus occurs; many of the birds come to the Americas illegally and are not assessed for biocontaminants.

This then, is a story about the appearance of the West Nile Virus in the United States.

About the Author

The author, DBA as Jenna Lain authors and co-authors short stories, novellas, and novels examining the texture of society, and humanity in all its guises through modern and distant times. Three time winner of the Carl Sentner/ Indigo Books award for creative writing, and the WFNS Atlantic Writing Competition, some of the works collected in the publication have appeared in literary journals and periodicals.