We’re doomed or something, so says Time’s resident climahysteric, Bryan Walsh
Thanks to Climate Change, West Nile Virus Could Be Your New Neighbor
Invasive species aren’t just species—they can also be pathogens. Such is the case with the West Nile virus. A mosquito-borne virus identified in the West Nile subregion in Uganda in 1937—hence the name—West Nile wasn’t much of a concern to people elsewhere until it broke out of Africa in 1999. The first U.S. cases were confirmed in New York City in 1999, and it has now spread throughout much of the world. Though 80% of infections are subclinical—meaning they yield no symptoms—those who do get sick can get very sick.The virus can led to encephalitis—inflammation of the brain and nervous system—and even death, with 286 people dying from West Nile in the U.S. in 2012. There were more than 5,500 cases reported that year, and the scary thing is that as the climate warms, West Nile will continue to spread.
That’s the conclusion of a new study from a team of researchers in the U.S., Britain and Germany, including those at the Center for Tropical Research at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. In a study published in the journal Global Change Biology, the researchers took climate and species distribution data, and created models that try to project the spread of the virus as the globe warms. West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes, and infected insects transmit the virus to human beings with a bite. But birds play a role too—if bitten by an infected mosquito, birds can generate high levels of the virus in their bloodstream, and can then transmit it to uninfected mosquitoes, which in turn can infect people. The biggest indicator of whether West Nile virus will occur is the maximum temperature of the warmest month of the year, which is why the virus has caused the most damage in hot southern states like Texas.
Before Hotcoldwetdry, invasive species and viruses never spread anywhere. Things were exactly the same for the previous 4.5 billion years, with life and disease staying exactly in the same places. Just don’t say anything about the Bubonic Plague, which spread during a cool period.
But, really, this is all part of the scareathon perpetuated by the Warmists, aimed toward their moonbat base and the Low Information Voters, who never take the time to learn the reality. Missing from the scary fable is that this has happened before, and will happen again, and it is simply part of nature, just like the majority of “climate change”.
