Record number of Las Vegas mosquitoes are carrying West Nile virus
A record-breaking number of mosquitoes in and around Las Vegas are carrying West Nile virus, sparking warnings from local health officials.
A record-breaking number of mosquitoes in and around Las Vegas are carrying West Nile virus, sparking warnings from local health officials who say the public should take precautions to avoid getting bit. West Nile virus can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea and is fatal in about 1 of 150 cases. There are no vaccines or medications to treat or prevent the mosquito-borne illness.
In recent weeks, 169 of over 24,000 pools of mosquitoes tested for West Nile virus returned positive — meaning at least one insect in the pool carried the disease — across 25 southern Nevada ZIP codes. The number of mosquitoes recorded and the tally of positive pools this early in the season break the area’s records for both metrics, set in 2019.
“These are huge numbers of mosquitoes, and we’ve already identified a concerning number of them carrying the West Nile virus,” said Vivek Raman, an environmental health supervisor for the Southern Nevada Health District.
Health officials have also identified six pools in the Las Vegas area that tested positive for St. Louis encephalitis virus, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause fatal inflammation of the brain.
For decades, climate scientists and public health officials have warned that climate change could expand the reach of various infectious diseases, especially those spread by mosquitoes. Las Vegas’ exploding mosquito population and the local uptick in West Nile prevalence offers an important case study on how climate could affect human health.
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