Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishes. (2019, October 25). Environmental and Sociological Factors Associated with the Incidence of West Nile Virus Cases in the Northern San Joaquin Valley of California. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/vbz.2019.2437

 

Mosquito-borne illnesses are a danger to global health and are known to affect 700 million people annually. In the Northern San Joaquin Valley region of California, environmental and socioeconomic risk factors linked with the occurrence of human West Nile virus (WNV) cases were researched. To focus solely on the environmental aspect of this study,  factors associated with the WNV include temperature, rainfall, habitat, and human population dynamics. In previous years, above-average summer temperatures have been closely linked to ‘hot spots’ of WNV activity. Now, high temperatures continue to be associated with WNV outbreaks.

 

I acknowledge that the socioeconomic aspect of this research is important, however, I chose to focus only on the environmental aspect because the study found that environmental factors were the strongest predictors of West Nile virus cases in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. This study is directly related to environmental science due to climate change, specifically increasing temperatures. As most studies and articles prompt me to think of potential solutions to issues, this one shed light on health education being strictly enforced since there is no vaccine against WNV for humans yet. It is important for citizens to stay informed on environmental related diseases that they may get exposed to, so that they are able to actively protect themselves. Perhaps there should be a course about environmental related diseases and how to prevent them because I would have never been informed on the WNV, if it weren’t for this article!