SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Like any new immigrant, the deadly West Nile virus became American almost immediately after landing on our shores -- altering itself to fit in, and then infecting a popular backyard bird to secure a firm foothold in its new home.
That is the startling conclusion of a decade-long analysis by University of California-Santa Cruz biologist Marm Kilpatrick, who explored the ecology of an infectious disease that killed five Californians this summer and sickened another 197, up from 82 last year.
