Rising temperatures could shift US West Nile virus transmission
New model suggests climate change may increase the areas in the US with optimal temperatures for West Nile virus transmission

Date:
September 15, 2020
Source:
eLife
Summary:
West Nile virus spreads most efficiently in the US at temperatures
between 24-25 degrees Celsius (75.2-77 degrees Fahrenheit), a new
study shows.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
West Nile virus spreads most efficiently in the US at temperatures between
24- 25 degrees Celsius (75.2-77 degrees Fahrenheit), a new study published today in eLife shows.


==========================================================================
The results suggest that climate change could lead to the increased spread
of West Nile virus in some places, while potentially causing a decrease in others, and provide insight on where and when these changes might occur.

"As the climate warms, it is critical to understand how temperature
changes will affect the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases," says
lead author Marta Shocket, who was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, California, US, at the time the study was carried out,
and is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California,
Los Angeles, US.

To do this, Shocket and her colleagues developed models to assess
the impact of temperature on six mosquito-borne viruses, four of which
occur in the US. These viruses -- the West Nile, St. Louis Encephalitis, Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, Sindbis, and Rift Valley fever
viruses -- were grouped together for this study as they share some of
the same species of mosquito carriers.

The models used laboratory experiments that measured how different
temperatures affect the mosquitoes' survival, biting rate, reproduction, development and ability to transmit the virus. The team validated their
West Nile model using data on human virus transmission in the US. They
found that West Nile virus is transmitted most readily at moderate temperatures, while extreme temperatures limit where its mosquito carriers could live and successfully transmit the virus.

"Most of the viruses covered in this work are from more temperate areas
than more commonly studied tropical diseases," Shocket explains. "We
compared these results to those of tropical diseases like malaria and
dengue and found that the optimal temperatures and cold thermal limits
for virus spread are cooler.

This means the viruses spread more efficiently at cooler temperatures
compared to more tropical diseases, as you would expect." The results
suggest that mosquito-borne diseases could take a greater toll in the US
as temperatures rise, especially as most of the population (70%) lives in places that are currently below the optimal temperature and will likely
see increased transmission with climate warming. This is compared to 30%
of the population who live in places where summer temperatures are above
the optimal temperature, meaning transmission will likely decrease with
climate warming.

Temperature increases could also extend virus transmission seasons
earlier into the Spring and later into the Fall.

"Climate change is poised to increase the transmission of West Nile and
other mosquito-borne viruses in much of the US," concludes senior author
Erin Mordecai, Assistant Professor of Biology at Stanford University. "But these diseases also depend on human contact with mosquitoes that also
contact wildlife, so factors like human land use, mosquito control,
mosquito and virus adaptations, and the emergence of new viruses make predicting the future of mosquito-borne disease a challenge."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by eLife. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Marta S Shocket, Anna B Verwillow, Mailo G Numazu, Hani Slamani,
Jeremy M
Cohen, Fadoua El Moustaid, Jason Rohr, Leah R Johnson, Erin
A Mordecai.

Transmission of West Nile and five other temperate mosquito-borne
viruses peaks at temperatures between 23DEGC and 26DEGC. eLife,
2020; 9 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.58511 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200915105932.htm

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