A team of researchers from the Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL) of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the bclimate group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) demonstrate in a new publication the contribution of climate change to the geographical expansion of West Nile virus in Europe.
A team of researchers from the Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL) of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the bclimate group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) demonstrate in a new publication the contribution of climate change to the geographical expansion of West Nile virus in Europe.
West Nile virus is transmitted by birds and mosquitoes, with mammals – primarily humans and horses – acting as dead-end hosts who cannot retransmit the virus to mosquitoes. Although infection in humans is often asymptomatic, about 25% of victims develop symptoms such as fever and headache, and less than 1% develop more serious neurological complications that can be fatal.
Climate change has previously been cited as a possible cause for the rise of the virus in Europe, but until now there has been no formal establishment of the connection. “Our results point to the major role of climate change in the rise of West Nile virus in the southeast of Europe,” says Diana Erazo, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at the Spatial Epidemiology Lab. “Our results also show a recent and dramatic increase in the number of people at risk of exposure. That is partly because of an increase in population density, but climate change remains a crucial factor that influences the risk of exposure.”
Read more at Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Photo Credit: CreativesolutionisT via Pixabay
