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Climate Change Indicators: West Nile Virus [1]
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Date: 2016-07-01 18:02:05-04:00
Background
Climate change is expected to affect the geographic and seasonal patterns of vector-borne diseases (that is, diseases caused by pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, or other arthropods) in the United States.1 West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in 1999 and is now the most common cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States in most years. While many infected people feel no symptoms, others can experience symptoms such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash, as well as more severe damage to the central nervous system in some patients, causing encephalitis, meningitis, and occasionally death.2 From 1999 to 2021, a total of 55,443 cases of West Nile virus disease were reported in to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly half of the reported cases of people infected with West Nile virus were neuroinvasive—that is, affecting the brain or causing neurologic dysfunction.3 Mosquitoes acquire the virus by biting infected birds, which are the main hosts of the virus. People are then infected when they are bitten by these virus-carrying mosquitoes.
Climate change increases the risk of human exposure to West Nile virus. Studies show that warmer temperatures associated with climate change can accelerate mosquito development, biting rates, and the incubation of the disease within a mosquito.4 The effect of climate change on the timing of bird migration and breeding patterns may also contribute to changes in long-range virus movement. Mild winters and drought have been associated with West Nile virus disease outbreaks,5,6 while rainfall can also contribute by creating breeding sites for mosquitoes.7
Climate is just one of many important factors that influence the transmission, distribution, and incidence of West Nile virus disease. Human exposure to infected mosquitoes is also influenced by multiple factors, including changes in the proximity of human populations to mosquitoes and host bird species, increased awareness of West Nile virus, and modified behaviors, such as spending less time outdoors during peak mosquito-biting times and taking precautions to avoid being bitten. West Nile disease is one of many diseases transmitted to humans by mosquitoes that CDC tracks.8
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[1] Url:
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-west-nile-virus
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