THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF WEST NILE VIRUS

The West Nile virus (WNV) first emerged in the United States in the year 1999 within the state of New York and has become endemic throughout the country over time. This virus is contracted from an avian species acting as the reservoir host, by the vector species which are mosquitoes. From this point, the mosquitoes transmit the virus to humans and other mammals, which are the dead end hosts. The WNV often presents itself as flu-like symptoms, but in serious cases can cause severe arboviral neurological disease. Since this is an arbovirus, it is important to have the ability to anticipate the patterns of mosquitoes in order to best mitigate the virus. Scientists have been studying the correlations between climate related variables, such as temperature, in order to predict the patterns of mosquitoes and WNV incidence. Through reviewing scientific literature and interpreting geospatial data, connections were formed between the WNV and climate change. Due to mosquitoes' preferred temperature range being 20-28 degrees Celsius, as the Earth is slowly warming, the patterns of the WNV are shifting since the climate is growing warmer throughout all months of the year. As summer months get warmer, the temperature rises beyond the mosquitoes desired range which risks dehydration and death for the mosquitoes. Additionally, as traditionally colder months get warmer, the temperature reaches the mosquitoes ideal range allowing for a faster reproductive cycle in months that would previously have not been expected. This begins to pose a risk of contracting the WNV in all months of the year instead of mostly summer months. Additionally, as climate change continues to occur there may continue to be shifts in WNV incidence which will require regular examination of mosquito movement to continue virus mitigation.