Just a couple weeks ago, I watched the news as a spirited grandmother from West Covina who lost her battle against the West Nile Virus. Just this week, another individual died in Orange County. This amounts to 12 lives around California being claimed by the West Nile Virus.
This West Nile Virus epidemic was not something that was unseen. In early July, I joined an assembly of global health advocates from the University of California’s Global Health Institute in a meeting with Senator Harris’ staffers. I used this rare opportunity to question the Junior Senator’s position on global health. The staffers informed me that Senator Harris supports global health, but currently is focused on national security. In response, I contended that global health is vital to national security, especially since advances in transportation increases diseases traveling from country to country. I explicitly brought up the West Nile Virus as an example and used government statistics which showed an increased chance of deaths from the disease within California in the foreseeable future.
The foreseeable future is now. Experts from the California Department of Public Health has predicted that with the heavy rains we experienced in California there will be more mosquitoes. State data confirms this, and shows mosquitoes with West Nile test higher this year than the state’s most recent average. With 12 lives lost already, the experts are predicting even more people to be affected.
The West Nile Virus has been in California for many years. But over these years, our leaders fail to acknowledge this threat. We do have some lines of defense against the disease: health officials recommend wearing insect repellents, long pants, and long-sleeve shirts outdoors. They also ask that we drain all standing water from around our homes and limiting our actively at dawn and dusk. But these are imperfect techniques for preventing a larger problem that must be solved in a laboratory by scientists. Funding for research toward the West Nile Virus may be a stepping stone.
In 2015, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases began a clinical trial of a vaccine designed to protect against the West Nile Virus. The vaccination has been successful in both mice and monkeys. Although the vaccine has not been FDA approved, it shows hope for the future if we fund more similar research.
The lack of response from our elected leaders is shocking. I am a second-year undergraduate Psychology major at UC Santa Cruz and I was able to predict the rise of West Nile Virus throughout California. Our elected leaders, who hire specialists in health and have ways to work with scientist around California, failed to prioritize and even to inform the public in a timely manner.
Today we mourn the death of an elderly grandmother from Orange County, but tomorrow we must prevent more deaths by supporting research in the West Nile Virus and even more importantly, making our elected officials listen to those who they represent. The West Nile Virus is an epidemic going around California that must be acknowledge by our leaders. Until we find a cure and vaccine, there will be another epidemic next year too.
For more information about preventative measures and frequently asked questions about West Nile Virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/genQuestions.html.