Maladies Target Vineyard Workers
Maladies Target Vineyard Workers
May 27, 2010 6
Prosser,WA -- Northwest grapegrowers are keeping a close eye on pests this season, but vines and grapes aren’t the targets of the bugs -- the growers themselves are at risk.
The dangers are well known to Paul Champoux, who grows 180 acres of sought-after grapes at Champoux Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA south of Prosser, Wash. West Nile Virus hit Champoux hard last July, incapacitating him within three days of noticing the first symptoms. Originally identified in Uganda’s West Nile District in 1937, the mosquito-borne virus appeared in New York state in 1999 and has since spread across North America.
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