You know how all those 'hott trends' seem to start in New York, and float out here fanned by the butterfly wings of fashion and lifestyle magazines? Well, this summer, the 'buzz' isn't about hemlines or heel heights -- no, it's about the must have epidemic, West Nile virus! And now San Francisco has finally joined the club.

We lived in Brooklyn during the summer West Nile fever gripped New York City, and let us tell you, it wasn't anything like how we imagine 'disco fever' went. Instead, it was mass media hysteria with a pinch of local politics. The hysteria over the dangers of the virus were matched with hysteria over the if, what and when to spray.

Rudy G decided to spray, so they sprayed. We were vaguely told when they were going to spray, and to stay indoors during the spraying, wear repellent, have our broken window screens fixed, report dead birds, yadda yadda. None of which any of our apathetic hipster friends did. Because hey, there are a million ways to get sick and die, and at least our gravestone would read "Dude, they totally had West Nile in New York before it sold out and went national."

Image from the National Institutes for Health, via WikiPedia.