As of mid-August, 24 people in Texas' Harris County had contracted West Nile virus, a stark rise from fewer than 10 cases annually over the past five years.
Climate change has contributed to Houston's spike in West Nile virus cases by creating above-average rain and unusually high temperatures, boosting local mosquito populations.
'We have a situation where the virus amplified within the host, the birds, and when the mosquitoes took their blood meal, they became infected,' said Maximea Vigilant.
West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the United States, with serious illnesses occurring in roughly 1 in 150 infected individuals.
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