‘Viruses like heat’: How climate change is boosting West Nile

By Ariel Wittenberg | 08/21/2024 06:57 AM EDT

Houston’s warm, wet spring was a boon for mosquitoes and West Nile virus.

Miguel Flores Sr. stands in his flooded backyard outside his home in the northeast Houston neighborhood of Kingwood on May 4. The area had about four months of rain in a week's time, contributing to a warm, wet spring that boosted mosquito populations. Juan Lozano/AP

Houston is seeing a spike in West Nile virus cases — and climate change is to blame.

As of mid-August, 24 people in Texas’ Harris County had contracted the virus, and more than 600 mosquito samples tested positive for it. By contrast, over the past five years, the area saw fewer than 10 cases annually, and positive mosquito samples never rose above 320.

It’s just the latest case of climate-fueled weather increasing the transmission of vector-borne infectious diseases.

“Viruses like heat,” said Maximea Vigilant, director of mosquito and vector control at Harris County Public Health.

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