What will global warming bring?

Warm temperatures increase the rate of both mosquito development and virus replication within mosquitoes. Consistently elevated temperatures increase mosquito populations of all species, speed up virus multiplication within mosquitoes, and therefore act to increase the amount of virus in the environment overall…
Consistently high temperatures and lower precipitation rates are factors that have been associated with higher mosquito infection and human illness rates. Additionally, warmer winter temperature conditions may result in larger numbers of Culex species overwintering as adults, with resulting increases in early season Culex abundance...
Prolonged heat promotes risk from both WNV and EEE by increasing the rate of mosquito reproduction and development as well as decreasing the amount of time it takes for an infected mosquito to become able to transmit the virus. Weather conditions favorable for development of elevated WNV risk include hot, generally dry weather with rain occurring as downpours rather than light precipitation. Weather conditions favorable for development of elevated EEE risk include increased rainfall in the preceding fall and/or spring and mild winters or those with insulating snow cover.

Source: Mass. DPH 2016 Arbovirus Surveillance and Response Plan.



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References